Power Search
by Artistry201
Summary: Tony takes over the company, Pepper works for S.H.I.E.L.D, Rhodey has joined the Air National Guard, and Gene, with the help of the captured Howard Stark, is close to finding the last ring of power. This story matches up with the Iron Man movie! Pepperony
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing that is Iron Man/Iron Man Armored Adventures! Absolutely nothing. I wish...

Quick Note: Oooookay....so I started this story a few months ago. I have it, maybe...half way done? I'm not quite sure yet. You'll just have to see! ;) I'm putting up one chapter at a time, whenever I have the time to do it. I hope that you like it, this story will line up with the Iron Man movie with Robert Downey Jr., Gwenyth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, etc.. So you'll just have to read and see how it works out!

Chapter One

It had been two years since anyone had seen Gene. Tony had turned eighteen in that time, and Obadiah, recognizing that Tony had just stepped into adulthood, relinquished his hold over Stark Industries. Extremely reluctantly. Reluctant meaning: he was escorted out of the building after yelling obscenities at Tony.

The Tomorrow Academy's graduation was only a week away, Rhodey was frantic, trying to decide which scholarship to take, and Pepper couldn't stop talking about her upcoming interview with S.H.I.E.L.D. and Tony was just glad to have finally stepped into his father's shoes. Taking over the company was not only a relief, it was also a huge comfort. With Gene's disappearance also went the hope that Tony had of finding his father. The company was all he had to remember Howard Stark by.

Tony stood in the empty conference room of Stark Industries, looking through the window at the vast city in front of him.

A knock at the door sounded behind him, "Come in..." He said absentmindedly.

Rhodey stepped into the room quietly, "Hey Tony, you doing all right?"

"Ya, ya...I'm fine." Tony mumbled.

Rhodey slowly made his way closer to Tony, stepping beside him, looking out the window. "Wow," he paused slightly, "you're dad sat here almost everyday, didn't he?" Rhodey asked quietly.

"Ya...he did." Tony said simply.

"Well, you've got some big shoes to fill, you ready for it?" Rhodey asked.

Tony smiled, glancing at Rhodey, "You know, I think I am. I know it'll be hard, but I think I'm ready."

Rhodey grinned, "Nothing you do is easy, Tony."

Tony laughed for what seemed like the first time that day. "You are completely right, my friend. Completely right."

* * *

Later that week came Tomorrow Academy's graduation. Dressed in their graduation attire with their caps and tassels, they sat in the gymnasium waiting for the ceremony to start. Pepper sat in between Tony and Rhodey, bouncing slightly with anticipation.

"Do you guys know when this thing is going to start? We're all ready! I mean, how long can they really keep us waiting?" She moaned.

Rhodey rolled his eyes, "Pepper, graduation ceremonies always take awhile."

Tony laughed, "I think I want this to be over with just as much as Pepper does."

Their principal tapped the microphone at the podium, "Tomorrow Academy students, you have reached a wonderful new chapter in your life, you will reach to the sky and achieve goals that no other person would have dreamed....."

Tony completely zoned out, hearing only a "blah blah blah, mah mah mah, blah blah, mah..."

Pepper was eyeing the many stadium seats looking for her dad, while Rhodey sat at attention, soaking up every moment. Pepper frowned, squinting into the crowd.

She nudged Tony slightly, who didn't respond. "Psst, Tony." She whispered, gathering his attention.

"Huh?" He said, not altogether interested in what Pepper had to say.

"Tony, look to our left, at the top of the stands, right next to the back door..." she frowned even more, "Is that who I think it is?"

Tony rolled his head in the direction Pepper was mentioning, bringing his eyes up to the top of the stands. There, at the back of the crowd, was Gene Khan. Tony's eyes almost bugged out of his head.

Pepper grabbed his arm, knowing what he was going to do just before Tony even thought of it. "Don't go anywhere. He'll see you coming in a second. Don't stare at him." Pepper hissed.

Tony's nostrils flared, lips pressed together in a straight line, "That traitor has my father."

"I know, Tony. Please. Just wait." Pepper pleaded.

Just when Pepper thought she could no longer hold Tony in-check, the Principal shouted, "Good luck, Tomorrow Academy! YOU are the better tomorrow!" The whole stadium erupted in cheers, hats were thrown in all directions. Tony's world seemed to go in slow-motion, he had shot from his chair, ripping his arm from Pepper's grip the second the Principal's speech was done.

"TONY!" Pepper yelled, running after him, dodging between people, trying to get to him as fast as she could before he did something rash.

Tony sprinted up the steps, taking them two or three at a time, heading straight into the direction he had seen Gene.

Rhodey looked to his left, surprised to see that Pepper and Tony were nowhere to be found. "What the...?" He muttered to himself.

Things were still in slow motion, Tony could feel the erratic beatings of his heart, the rush of adrenaline pounding in his ears. People yelled out in surprise around him as he pushed through the crowd. He burst through and stopped abruptly. He looked around wildly, trying to spot the familiar face of Gene Khan.

Pepper came up behind Tony, huffing and puffing, "Man, if I want a job with S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm definitely going to need to work out more." She gulped down more air, looking up to find Tony running through the back door, leaving the basketball stadium behind. "Oh you've got to be kidding me."

Tony ran as hard as he could. He could have sworn he had seen some movement just at the end of the corridor. He rounded the corner and WHAM! Tony smashed into something. Or someone. Tony fell flat on the floor, staring up at the ceiling in shock.

Pepper jogged down the long corridor, her high-heeled shoe snagged on her graduation gown, giving her a sudden jolt forward, hitting the hard pavement on hands and knees.

"Oh great, now I'll have to pay them for this stupid gown!" She said in frustration, unzipping it and throwing it off. She rose to her feet, brushing off her light blue dress and starting her run in the direction she had seen Tony go.

"Tony!" Tony could hear Pepper shouting from down the hall. She rounded the corner, coming to a sudden halt at the scene before her.

Tony had gotten to his feet, staring at Gene Khan with all the menace he could muster. "Where's my father, Gene?" Tony asked.

"He's working on something for me..." Gene said slowly.

"What are you talking about? The Rings? You have all five! What do you need him for anymore?!" Tony was outraged.

"Hey Pepper, how are you?" Gene asked, completely ignoring Tony. "You look nice."

Pepper's mouth opened and closed like a fish.

"Where is my dad?!" Tony shouted.

"You'll have him back soon, Tony. I promise." Gene stated calmly. "I just came by on your special day to show you something that I found out."

Pepper frowned, looking at Gene suspiciously. Gene reached for the string of a necklace beneath his shirt, and lifting it to show them.

"Notice how many rings I have?" He smiled vampire-like.

Tony's mouth dropped open, "But, there were only five, how do you have...?" Tony gaped at the amount of rings on his necklace.

"Nine, Tony. I have nine rings. There are actually ten total, not five. I thought I'd just come by and annoy you with that new information...and maybe, to let you know you can have your dad back soon."

Tony couldn't keep in his anger any longer, he lunged at Gene. Just as he was about to hit him with all the force he could gather, Gene shifted like light and disappeared. Tony skidded to a stop. "What on earth?" Tony heard a surprised yelp behind him.

He turned to find Gene standing next to Pepper. She stood stalk still, while Gene started to circle her, but keeping his eyes on Tony. "My, my, Pepper, you've changed. Grown your hair out quite a bit...wearing make-up are we?" He smirked, "And a dress! How cute. Do you really need a friend like Tony? You could just come with me..."

Pepper looked at him in disgust, "Oh what, and pile me in the same cell as Howard? Forcing me to do your every bidding? No thank you." She folded her arms in a huff.

"Oh come on Pepper, I know you liked me before I left." Gene chided.

Pepper didn't say anything, just stared at Tony, waiting for him to make a move. She felt like the prey, waiting for the predator to strike.

"How did you do that?" Tony asked cautiously, stepping closer.

Gene shrugged, almost brushing shoulders with Pepper, "Isn't it amazing? It came on just by wearing the rings around my neck. Imagine that power multiplied nine times when I wear them on my fingers..."

"Gene, power like that can be dangerous. Even fatal. Let me analyze them, they could be changing your actual DNA make-up. It could kill you." Tony said slowly.

Gene laughed, stepping behind Pepper and resting his hands on her shoulders, Pepper felt a shiver spiral down her back. "Like you care." Gene's smile disappeared, along with himself and Pepper.

"NO!" Tony shouted, jumping toward where they had just been. For two seconds, fear gripped him. Where was Pepper?

Laughing came from behind him, Tony turned on his heel, charging straight for him.

Gene shoved a still-surprised Pepper in Tony's direction. She stumbled and hit Tony right in the chest, bringing them both to the ground. For the second time, Tony found himself dazed and spread on the floor, only this time, Pepper was lying on top of him.

Gene stepped in Tony's line of sight, holding up both his hands to show eight rings placed on his fingers, holding one out to show Tony. Pepper rolled off of Tony to his side, craning her neck up to see Gene standing over them, smirking.

"I didn't know you wanted Tony that bad, Pepper." Pepper's face reddened slightly.

"Tony's a better choice." She spat.

Gene's face contorted into a frown for just a moment before mentally shrugging it off. Tony started to get up, his head pounding from hitting the ground so hard. Gene stepped back, slipping the ninth ring onto his finger, "When I find the last ring, I'll let you know. Then you can have your father back."

Tony jumped to his feet, running for Gene as fast as he could. Gene's body was engulfed in ancient armor of silver. He shot a blast of light through the air, hitting Tony square in the chest. Tony yelled out in surprise and pain, hitting the ground.

"No! Tony!" Pepper screamed, running toward him. "Tony...Tony? Can you hear me?" Tears began to make tracks down Pepper's cheeks. She eyed the burn mark on the clothes around his chest, then dared a glance in the Mandarin's direction.

Just as she looked, Gene disappeared in a flash of light.

* * *

Note: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!! Reviews would be nice. No flames, please... :) Thanks for taking your time to read this!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Thank you so much for your reviews!! I'm glad you're liking the story so far. After this point there are a few parts where a lot of time passes, not so much in this chapter, but in chapters to come. Hope you still like it! :)

* * *

Chapter Two

All Tony could hear was Pepper. "Tony! Tony, please be okay, please be okay!" She kept repeating to herself over and over again. He could feel her fingers up against his neck, checking his pulse, the other on his forehead.

"Pepper...I'm fine." Tony slurred.

"Oh Tony! You're awake! Gosh, I was so worried! If you're not in the Iron Man armor, I don't suggest you ever do something like that again." She ranted, "I can't believe you charged him! What were you thinking?" She demanded, breathing heavily.

Tony just laid there. 'He has my father...' was all Tony could think.

"Tony? Are you listening to me? Can you even hear me? Look at me! Maybe you're pupils are dilated! You could have a concussion!" She grabbed his face and turned it toward hers. They were within inches of touching noses.

"Did you really mean that?" Tony asked, blinking rapidly.

"Mean what?" Pepper asked.

"That I'm a better choice?" Tony asked, a goofy smile appearing on his face.

"Oh stop it! Of course you're a better choice, Gene went AWAL on us!" Pepper said, exasperated. She glanced down at his chest, where his graduation gown was burnt and singed right through. "You might want to take that off so people aren't wondering what happened..." She said uneasily.

Tony glanced down at the graduation gown. "Oh, ya. I guess you're right." He unzipped it and tossed it aside, leaving him in his nice suit with a slightly singed tie. That's when he noticed that Pepper wasn't wearing hers either. "What happened to yours?" He asked.

"Oh...I ripped it." She said sheepishly. "On accident." She said quickly.

"Right, right. Of course." Tony smiled, but only for a moment before he heard shouting from down the corridor.

"Tony! Pepper! Man, where are you guys?!" Rhodey called. He came around the corner, noticing his friends. Tony sitting on the ground, with Pepper leaning toward him, his face in her hands.

"Uh....am I, well, intruding on anything?" Rhodey asked, genuinely surprised and also perplexed.

Confusion crossed Pepper's face while Tony started to laugh. "What? Oh! NO! I mean, heh....no. No." Pepper said quickly. "It's a long story that you actually need to know." Pepper supplied.

Rhodey snickered, "I don't think I want to know what you guys do for your extra-curricular activities..."

Tony laughed even harder. "No! Rhodey!" Pepper pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to calm herself. "Gene was here!"

Tony's laughter stopped abruptly and Rhodey's smile faltered. "Gene? Here? Is that why you guys ran off so fast?" Rhodey asked.

"Yes. I spotted him at the top by the back door, I pointed it out to Tony, and once the speech was over, he bolted. And I followed." Pepper said, as if that explained everything that Rhodey had just walked in on.

Tony and Pepper spent the next five minutes filling Rhodey in.

"Well, it's taken him two years to find those four rings. I don't know how long it'll take him to find the last one." Tony said, sounding depressed. "I don't know when I'll see my dad again, if I ever will."

Pepper placed a hand on his shoulder, "It's okay Tony, maybe we can try to beat him to it." She smiled slightly.

"Ya man, things will work out. We'll start right away." He said confidently.

* * *

Weeks passed, and they weren't any closer to finding the last Makluan ring. Tony and Pepper sat in Tony's new and refinished armory. Since he had taken over his father's business, they could have been using the many labs in the Stark Industries building, but there was a certain feel to the armory back near Rhodey's house that they just couldn't leave behind. Plus, it was closer.

Pepper nudged Tony's shoulder, "So how do we know if we get a lead to a ring, but it ends up being a ring that Gene already has?"

Tony's eyes closed in frustration, "I know, Pepper. I'm trying to figure something out."

Pepper put her hands up in defense, "Okay, just making sure you thought of it."

"It's Tony Stark, Pepper. Of course he's thought of it." Rhodey said from the door. He walked in with a pizza and a couple of sodas. "Thought you guys might be hungry."

They sat in silence, each eating their pizza and drinking their sodas. "And it took two years to find four rings, even with your dad's help, Tony..." Pepper said quietly, not wanting to upset him too much.

Tony stared at the wall across the room, "With each ring, it gets harder and harder. I'm beginning to think whether it's even worth it. I might just want to wait for Gene. He'll return my dad sooner or later."

They were shocked. Pepper almost dropped her pizza while Rhodey choked on his drink. "Are you nuts?!" Rhodey blurted, "If Gene gets that last ring, he'll be invincible! You won't be able to beat him, even with your Iron Man suit!"

"Did you not see what he was capable of back at graduation? For crying out loud! He almost took me with him!" Pepper cried.

Tony cringed, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I guess I wasn't thinking about that. I was only thinking of my father. You guys are right. Gene's making this extremely personal." He said, his eyes pleading. "He's taken my father, and then there was that split second when I thought he had taken you, Pepper, and I was frantic! I know I need my friends. That's the only way I'll get through this, but...I don't want anything to happen to either of you."

Rhodey shook his head with a smile on his face, "Gene was our friend, I think he still feels that. Even if he does get one of us, he won't sway us away from you. We won't join him."

Tony nodded and sighed, "Well, we better work even harder then." He stated, getting up from his chair and grabbing a piece of pizza, "We'll have to pull a few all-nighters." He grabbed at least eight books from under the table and passed them out to Rhodey and Pepper.

"Make that a LOT of all-nighters." Pepper mumbled.

* * *

Okay, I'm sorry!! I know this chapter is super short! But I put up Chapter three also to make up for it...Read and Review please! Thank you :) No flames would be nice...


	3. Chapter 3

I hope you enjoy this chapter! The last chapter was more of a filler, sorry :s So I hope you're happy that I put up two AND three! Hahaha

* * *

Chapter Three

Almost a full year had passed and they had not heard a single word from Gene. Pepper was working for S.H.I.E.L.D. and wasn't as happy with it as she first thought she would be. They had interviewed her, handed her a standard S.H.I.E.L.D. employee access badge and card, and said, "Thanks for being our new secretary."

Pepper had gaped at them, "Secretary?" She had asked. She sat at a desk most days, working through financial records, putting together meetings, putting up with Nick Fury's attitude, and other odd jobs all over S.H.I.E.L.D. Pepper's father couldn't be more proud. The only thing she held on to was the fact that they had told her, "In a couple of years you might be able to move up to Agent. IF you can pass the test." That was the only thing she looked forward to.

The more and more she came into contact with Nick Fury, the more and more she became quiet, and more reserved, having been told she would lose her job if she gossiped about the wrong things, talked too much, or even said things out of turn. She wanted to be an Agent too badly to mess this up.

Too bad "a couple years" meant much longer than only two or three.

Rhodey had decided to go into the Military, focusing on battle strategies and weapons. It was the perfect field. He could still study history, with the excuse of, "Just trying to get new ideas from old battle techniques used in wars from history..." with a smile on his face. He slowly moved up in ranks, also for the fact that Rhodey was one of the only people who knew how to talk to Tony Stark. Rhodey had steadily built up a reputation as the person who could sway a "Tony Stark Decision" as it was called.

Tony was now only a month away from turning 20 and not any closer to finding the last ring. "How is this so impossible?!" He yelled at himself, throwing a book across the room.

Rhodey sat on the other side of Tony's desk, "I don't know, Tony. I'm sorry. We haven't seen Gene or your dad in so long...Do you still think he's even looking for it?"

Tony shook his head, "I can't be sure of anything, but I feel like he wouldn't just give up, not when he's this close."

Rhodey nodded, "But maybe the last ring just isn't meant to be found. Maybe none of these rings were supposed to be found in the first place."

Tony snorted, "You sounded like Pepper right there."

Rhodey shrugged, "It's true though! What if Gene finds the last ring and everything literally goes to chaos?"

Tony sighed, "It very well could. But we just don't know, and I don't want Gene to be the one to find it. He already has nine of them. Nine!" He shouted.

"I know, Tony. Calm down. We'll look more. We'll find something!" Rhodey tried.

Tony took a deep breath, "I don't know anymore, Rhodey. We've almost completely lost Pepper's help, with her working for S.H.I.E.L.D. she barely has any time to do anything anymore. I haven't even seen her for about two, maybe three, months!"

Rhodey rested his face in his hands, "I'm sorry, Tony. I don't know what to tell you."

* * *

On the other side of the world in the desert north of Deh Shu, Afghanistan, was Gene Khan. Standing in the ankle-deep sand and looking to the northeast, where the Paropamisus Mountain Range stood, watching him. He knew it, he could feel it. The last ring was there, within that mountain range. He turned around, looking at his "Band of Brothers" that he had adopted along his journey. "Brothers!" He called in the Southern Afghan language of Pashto, "The ring lies within that mountain range! We will find it. Follow me!" His men trudged behind him through the hot sand, walking parallel to the Helmand River, heading in the direction of Kabul.

These men were power searchers. The Makluan Rings were a legend in their culture, but none had ever found them. Then, here was this man, Gene Khan, that had found nine of the ten rings. Their faith in seeking that power was restored. The Mandarin had promised them great power and authority for their help to find the last ring. Did they trust him? Not entirely. But they would make sure to gain their share.

After three weeks of looking throughout the Paropamisus mountains, Gene had finally found the last Temple. He turned to his Brothers, "There are always traps hidden throughout the inner depths of the Temple, along with a riddle. For any of you who are brave enough may come with me, those of you who would rather not go in, I need you to stay out here and stand watch."

The group of about 150 men shifted uneasily, a few stepping forward, and the rest stood still. "Very well. Don't say I didn't warn you."

In all honesty, Gene didn't want any of them to come. He wanted the last ring for himself, not to share with more than a hundred men. And having lost the friendship of those back in the States and anyone else he had ever known, these men had become his family. Did he trust them all completely? No, of course not. But he felt a bond with them, perhaps because they were all searching for the same thing. Seeing them get killed would probably take more of a toll on him than he would expect.

Gene stepped carefully into the Temple, followed by three men behind him. Once they entered, the door rumbled shut. Gene heard shouts from the other side of the door, the three men stood deathly still, fear gripping them in the darkness.

"Follow me, and you'll be fine." He said cautiously.

They travelled through the Temple slowly, going lower and lower into its depths. They came upon a room that was filled with beautiful treasures, golden cups and staffs, along with shields of silver and swords that were perfectly balanced were littered throughout the room.

"Don't touch anything." He commanded.

One of the men behind him drooled a little before turning his eyes away from the treasure-packed room.

"Just one?" One man asked.

"No." Gene said firmly, but he didn't listen. The man snatched a cup from a pile closest to him, examining it, feeling it, stroking it.

"I told you not to touch anything!" Gene shouted angrily.

The man wasn't listening. The other two glancing between Gene and their fellow man.

"Put it down!" Gene screamed. He still didn't listen. He was caught in a trance, his eyes glazed over, and his body started to convulse. Only then did Gene realize the inscriptions and writings all across the walls of the treasury.

"Greedy and lustful men reaching for power will feel their own souls cower as the spirits of those deemed protectors rise and take their prize." Gene read the words carefully, still watching their friend convulse and scream with terror.

"There's nothing we can do for him. The spirits of those who guard this place are taking his mind." Gene told the other two, their eyes wide with fear. They left the room, the large stone door closed, muffling the yells and screams from their lost friend.

"Now that we've seen this Temple's traps in action, I advise you not to touch anything, and to be very careful." Gene said quietly. Lifting a torch from its mount and taking it with them to light the way.

They made their way further into the Temple, seeking the last ring of power. Another man was lost along the way as they were walking across a very narrow bridge with no ropes to hold onto on either side. Gene only heard his scream as he fell, not wanting to look. His scream only faded, it did not stop abruptly, and he wondered if there was even a bottom to hit. He didn't want to find out.

The last standing man with him made it all the way to the last chamber where the ring was held. Gene opened the door easily, glancing around first before stepping in. Finally deciding it was mostly safe, he stepped in and listened for a moment for anything that would indicate a trap, and then motioned to the man behind him to come in. They both stood in a room lit with a beam of light going from the floor to the ceiling in the middle of the wide chamber. The ring sat suspended in the air within the middle of the beam of light.

"Finally, the last ring of power..." Gene murmured.

He stepped forward only for a moment before the man behind him lunged in front of him, pushing him aside, reaching into the beam of light, his fingers barely started to close around the ring before he started to disintegrate. Screams echoed around the room, chaos erupted in the middle of the chamber, the beam of light swallowing him whole with blue flames. Nothing was left of him except for his shoes.

Gene grimaced and turned away, the smell of burnt flesh assaulted his nose.

"Well, that saved me some trouble." Gene said to himself. Did he feel as bad as he thought he might? Not really... He walked around the room, looking for an inscription of some kind. After only a few minutes of looking, he finally found what he was looking for.

On the wall opposite of the door, directly across from the eerie beam of light was an inscription. "Carefully sought and wanted greatly, the ring of power waits. For whosoever desires this thing has fought with fate. If a man seeks this treasure, the life is taken. But if a woman is the seeker, the Temple will be shaken. Choose wisely, for one shall die, and the other given a just chance." Gene stared at the inscription for awhile.

"I can't believe I've come all this way, and a stinkin' WOMAN has to be the one to take the ring." He fumed. "It must be something about pure desire. Men in the past have desired power beyond anything else. Women, on the other hand...their desires mainly dealt with the well-being of their families..."

Gene pondered the statement further, "The Temple will be shaken...So, if a man tries to touch the ring, he'll be incinerated in a second. But if maybe, a woman tries to take the ring, the Temple will only be "shaken"? As in...sink? Crumble? What kind of woman could make it out of a sinking and crumbling temple with a ring of power?" Gene asked himself, already coming to a conclusion.

* * *

I hope you had fun reading chapter three...these chapters aren't as long as the ones in my other story. Very sorry. Let me know what you think! I don't do well with Flames...Don't be mean to me! :s


	4. Chapter 4

Eh heh...Okay, soooo I was sadly mistaken...hahahaha you're going to hate me (Mulberry) because it was a different chapter that I needed to fix up, not this one...my bad!! I'm super sorry. So, I hope you like this super short chapter followed by the one I need to fix up :) Sorry I'm such a frustration to you.

This is chapter is dedicated to all my lovely Reviewers. Thanks a ton, guys, you're the best!

* * *

Chapter Four

It was early in the morning and Pepper sat in the conference room of S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, listening to the blabbering of a CEO for a company in the middle of manufacturing a new line of machine guns. Nick Fury was...needless to say, furiously arguing with the man.

"You CANNOT manufacture a machine gun with a built in flame thrower!" He yelled.

"WHY?!" The man yelled in defense, "It's perfectly safe! There's a lock on it! You have to have a key!"

Nick Fury almost screamed, "Then why would you even want one on there?! You couldn't use it in battle! 'Oh, excuse me sir, while I blow you to bits, could you just wait a second so I can pull out this key from my pocket and unlock the flame thrower so I can then, cook you and EAT YOU?!' That is NOT going to fly!" Nick Fury exclaimed.

Being Nick Fury and overseeing the general safety of the public and also trying to find some kind of intelligence within the weapons manufacturing companies was proving harder than anticipated. He needed a new line of weapons for his team, and so far, it was proving to be disastrous.

Pepper rolled her eyes and stared up at the ceiling in disbelief. Tony wouldn't be this stupid in weapons design. Tony. When was the last time she had seen him? It had been way too long. She pulled out her blackberry phone and continued to ignore Nick Fury and the CEO.

'Tony! How are you?' She texted quickly.

Within seconds she received a reply.

'I'm all right. How are you?' He asked.

Pepper breathed out a sigh of relief, 'I'm going crazy! Can we do something soon? I miss you and Rhodey.' She texted back.

'Haha yes, of course. We haven't seen each other for about three months. It's definitely been too long, in my opinion. Meet you at the Café we used to go to all the time?' He asked.

'Yes! Perfect. When?' She asked.

'Mmm...how about, this afternoon, one o'clock sharp.' Tony said.

'All right, I'll be there!' Pepper smiled gratefully, excited to see Tony, and possibly Rhodey again.

The early morning came and went, Pepper could barely sit still in her seat. The heated argument had finally calmed down and Nick Fury had declined the CEO's offer for his Machine gun/Flame thrower. Pepper had decided it was best to take the rest of the day off. She didn't want to deal with his attitude for the rest of her Friday afternoon.

"Crazy son of a-" Nick had muttered, closing the door behind him before his sentence was finished.

Pepper sat for just a moment, checking her blackberry. It was 12:30. If she didn't get out of here soon, she'd be late.

* * *

On the other side of the world, Gene Khan stood in the chamber, looking at the last ring of power. The only thing he could think of, was putting on all nine rings, transforming into the Mandarin, and shifting like light back to New York. Since he now knew exactly where the ring was, he could shift back to it.

He grabbed the necklace from under his shirt and put each ring on, transforming into the Mandarin and shifting through light to the other side of the world.

* * *

Pepper hurried from work straight to the Café. She wore some cute silver pointed toe flats and black dress pants, along with a royal blue top. Her purse dangled from her elbow as she briskly walked down the sidewalk toward her old favorite place. She was a little more than half way there when she got the weird feeling that she was being followed.

She glanced around quickly, still keeping her fast pace. She rounded a corner and could clearly see the little Café. All she had left was to walk the remaining one hundred yards and she would be there.

Tony parked his car outside the small Café and entered, looking around for a booth. Lucky for him, there were a few left. This place would never go out of business. He looked down at his watch, where it read 1:00 exactly. Pepper should be there any minute.

A waitress came up to him, stuttering for a moment. Everyone knew Tony Stark. "Do you need help finding a table, Mr. Stark?" She asked, fidgeting slightly.

Tony gave a dazzling smile, "Oh no, it's fine. I'm waiting for someone."

The waitress nodded with a twinkle in her eye and turned to go back to help someone else.

He turned to his right and looked out the window, he could see a cute red-head looking absolutely beautiful, walking down the sidewalk toward the Café. She seemed to be glancing around, looking for something, and yet nothing in particular.

"What on earth is she doing?" He asked himself, smiling and shaking his head. He went back to the door, opened it and started toward Pepper. She looked up to see Tony waving his hand at her. She waved back, a huge smile on her face.

They were about fifty yards from each other when Pepper got another urgent feeling that she was being followed. She looked up just in time to see the last person she was expecting to see. "Gene." She whispered, although he was in the Mandarin armor, she knew exactly who it was. He had appeared in a flash of light, demanding the attention of everyone around them, especially Tony.

"Pepper! RUN!" Tony yelled frantically, sprinting in her direction, as well as Gene's. He had not expected Tony to be there. He turned and shot a blast of light in his direction, Tony dodged the first blast and kept running toward them, trying at least to get to Pepper.

Pepper had frozen in shock, not having heard Tony's yell to run. Her eyes found Tony's only a moment before she knew what was going to happen. Tony ran as fast as his legs could cary him toward Pepper, the Mandarin shot another blast, this time finding its mark. It hit Tony right in the chest. Tony flew through the air and hit the ground, rolling a few feet before getting back up, he turned just in time to see Gene grab Pepper's shoulders and in a flash of light, disappeared.

Tony stood in the middle of the street, cars honking, people shouting. The scene was like a wake up call and Déja Vu had hit him in the face like a ton of bricks. This same scene had played out before his eyes little more than five years ago. Five years...Gene not only had his father, he now had Pepper.

Tony bolted back to his car and drove as fast as he could toward the armory, even after all this time, he and Rhodey still went there every now and then if they needed to get information "off the record". Tony pressed Rhodey's speed dial on his phone.

"Hello?" He heard Rhodey ask.

"Rhodey! Pepper's been kidnapped by Gene!" Tony yelled, honking his horn at some people driving exceptionally slow, in his opinion.

"What?! When? Why?" Rhodey asked quickly.

"I don't know, Rhodey!" Tony said frantically, "We need to find her though. Meet me at the Armory as soon as you can. I might be able to get the GPS signal from her blackberry." He swerved out of the way of an on coming car, it's horn blaring loudly at Tony.

"Okay, I'll be there asap." Rhodey stated quickly.

Tony closed his phone just as he pulled up in the Rhodes' driveway. He bolted from the car, heading straight for the armory.

Rhodey pulled up into his parents' driveway about ten minutes later, seeing Tony's car already there. He ran as fast as he could to the armory, still in his air force fatigues.

He found Tony furiously typing across the keyboard. "Tony! Hey, have you found anything?"

"Not yet, but I think I might be close." He responded quickly.

"Whoa..." Rhodey looked at the massive computer screen with awe, Tony was somehow able to zoom in from space, also using live GPS coordinates, he could see things as they were happening. "How are you doing that?" Rhodey asked, "Wait, don't tell me. You "borrowed" a satellite, let's say...from...NASA?"

"You got it." Tony murmured.

A painful ten minutes passed before Tony could finally locate Pepper's signal.

"You've got to be kidding me." Tony stepped back from the computer, running his hands through his hair.

"What is it?" Rhodey asked, not understanding what had happened.

"She's in Afghanistan." Tony stated numbly.

"Afghanistan? I thought you said she was taken only a half an hour ago?!" Rhodey exclaimed.

"She was. Gene can shift through light waves. It came with having the nine rings instead of five." Tony closed his eyes for a moment. "It's gotta be where the last ring is. I don't know why he needs Pepper, but we're going to find out."

* * *

Well, hope you somewhat liked this next chapter! I know it's really short, but the next one is twice as long. Reviews would be fantastic!


	5. Chapter 5

All right!! Chapter five is much, much longer...so have fun reading!

Oh! And...this chapter is totally dedicated to The Mulberry (a.k.a. Cookiesnmilk123), I am very sorry I kept you waiting longer than you thought you would have to. Hope you like it :)

* * *

Chapter Five

Pepper watched as things seemed to slow down, she could see every inch of Tony's face very clearly as he ran toward her, his eyes pleading just before he was hit by a blast of power from the Mandarin. She could feel the pressure and heaviness of Gene's armor as he placed his hands on her shoulders. And in that instant, she was gone. She felt just like she had when this had happened before. Pepper felt as though she was going only 20 mph, but at the same time, she felt her body being pulled like she was going 400 mph.

Just as fast as they had disappeared, they reappeared. Pepper fell to a hard and cold stone floor. She sat for a moment, taking everything in that had just happened.

Gene removed the last ring and the Makluan armor disappeared, "Welcome, Pepper, to the last Temple." He smiled nicely.

Pepper slowly got to her feet and looked around, she saw a ring suspended in blue light at the center of the room. "Where are we?"

Gene frowned, "I just told you."

Pepper snorted, "Okay, I heard you. I mean, where on the earth, are we?" She said more specifically.

"Oh. We're in Afghanistan. In the mountains." He tried to clarify.

Pepper looked Gene over, he was wearing dark blue jeans and a black T-shirt, his hair was messy, but still seemed to look nice. It almost reminded her of Tony, but she knew that they were complete opposites. "So, you've brought me here because...?" Pepper asked, waving her hands around at the room.

"Because only a woman can take the ring." Gene supplied.

"Oh, so you grabbed me, all the way from New York. That makes perfect sense." She huffed, her eyes narrowing.

"Pepper, you're the only person I could think of that would actually make it out of here after you got the ring." Gene said.

"Excuse me? Once I get it, can't you just 'light-shift' me out of here?" Pepper asked incredulously.

"Well, yes, I guess I could, but I'm not sure I really want to be in this room when you touch that ring..." Gene said cautiously.

"YOU brought me here, YOU are staying with me." Pepper stated firmly, "Or I won't get that ring for you. OR I'll just keep it for myself, maybe give it to Tony." Pepper smiled smartly.

Gene advanced on her, closing the distance easily, "If you try to do that, I'll leave you in here," he faltered for a moment, "all by yourself." He ended lamely.

"Well, have fun getting your ring then." Pepper said, she sat down promptly onto the floor of the chamber.

Gene frowned, "You know what, FINE, I'll stay in the room when you get the ring."

"AND you'll do that weird thing and get me out of here, right?" Pepper said, folding her arms and sitting straight up.

"Yes. That too." Gene said quickly. "Just get my ring."

"It's not really yours, you know." Pepper said matter-of-factly.

Gene rolled his eyes and tried to calm himself down. She was still the same Pepper he knew from all those years ago.

* * *

On the other side of the world in New York, Tony was suiting up. Not for a business meeting, mind you, but a rescue mission. His red and gold armor fit like a glove, he turned to Rhodey, "You ready?"

Rhodey was in the War Machine armor, ready to follow Tony all the way to Afghanistan. Rhodey nodded, ready to kick some Khan Butt.

"This could be difficult, Afghanistan is paranoid right now, if they see us coming in, they won't hesitate to fire at us. Be careful." Tony warned.

They took off into the sky, blasting through the air and heading east.

* * *

Back in the Temple, Pepper slowly walked toward the vertical beam of blue light, watching the ring carefully. She stood next to it for a moment, then turned to Gene, "Put your other rings on, so we can shift out of here quickly."

"I can shift without wearing the rings." Gene stated.

"I don't want to take any chances." Pepper said, fear in her eyes.

Gene nodded and slipped on the nine rings of power, anxiously waiting for Pepper to grab the last one. His body became encased in ancient silver armor, he nodded for Pepper to grab the ring.

* * *

Tony and Rhodey were flying over Iran, almost reaching the border of Afghanistan when he heard a low boom below them. He looked down, his computer system picking up an incoming missile. "Rhodey, move!" He called into the com system.

Rhodey flew out of the way as fast as he could, Tony following suit. The missile flew past them and Tony breathed a sigh of relief. They passed over the border, Tony locked on to Pepper's signal, lowering his altitude to get the exact coordinates while Rhodey followed right behind. Another low boom echoed around them, but Tony couldn't lock on to it, "Where is that coming from?" He asked. And then all of a sudden, Rhodey was blown back about fifty feet, smoke and fire cascading around him. Then, he started to free fall.

"Rhodey!!" Tony called, barreling through the air after him. Tony called through the com system a couple of times, hoping to hear his friend's voice, but there was no response.

Tony finally reached Rhodey and grabbed his suit and reverted the power to his boots. They slowly descended to the ground where Tony set him down. He lifted his face plate and looked Rhodey over. He had only been knocked unconscious.

"Oh thank heavens. Rhodey! Can you hear me?!" Tony yelled.

"Hmmm?..." Rhodey grumbled, "Oh man...I feel like I was hit with a ton of bricks just now. What happened?"

Tony chuckled, "You were blasted right out of the sky."

"Well, I guess that would explain why, then." Rhodey said, getting up from the sandy ground.

"We're only a few miles away from where Pepper's signal is." Tony said, reading the screen within his helmet. "Let's get going."

* * *

Pepper reached through the light, her fingers tingling as they penetrated the line of blue light. She kept going until her palm was right over the ring, everything up to her forearm tingled.

"Here goes nothing..." Pepper said to herself, her hands sweaty and legs shaking.

Her hand closed into a fist around the small ring of power, and everything stopped. Time stood still. Her breathing quickened and her eyes widened. Pain laced over her fingers and wrist, crawling up her arm, encasing her chest and moving down her abdomen and to her legs. She could barely make a sound, it hurt so badly. She tried to let go of the ring, but couldn't. Something held her there. Then, out of nothing, she heard a voice. It whispered, but echoed loudly through her ears. "The soul that bears the last is noble, for the one that bears the rest will meet their end. Death traps and steals the one that wreaths their fingers in the rings of power...the last ring will bring the final torment, which only ends with the destruction of the bearer of power..."

The pain intensified greatly for only a moment before disappearing, the words still echoing and bumping around in her brain. Time resumed it's regular path and the blue beam of light quickly contracted to a small beam then flashed brilliantly around Pepper's fist, blowing the air around them.

"Wow..." Gene said quietly from somewhere behind Pepper.

No sooner than that utterance, came the slow rumbling of the Temple.

* * *

Tony and Rhodey were flying somewhere above Pepper's signal when they saw a slight rumble, coupled with some dust spouting into the air ahead of them.

"There! Did you see that? That must be it!" Tony said through the com system. Rhodey and Tony descended to that spot, seeing a huge Temple looming over them within a cavern of the mountainside.

The ground below them pulsed and moved, the sand lurched, making hissing noises.

"We need to get in there!" Tony called.

* * *

Pepper stood staring at the ring in her palm. Or at least, trying to. As soon as the blue light had disappeared, the chamber had gone pitch black. The Temple rumbled on around her, falling pieces of ceiling barely missed her, but she didn't seem to notice.

Gene frantically made his way forward, feeling his way through the dark. "Pepper! Pepper? Where are you?!" He called.

Pepper finally seemed to notice what was going on. She could literally see absolutely nothing. She put her hand out in front of her and couldn't see it. "Gene?!" She yelled, turning and hitting something hard. "Oh. Is that you?" She asked dumbly.

"Yes." Gene answered, just as stupidly. Who else would be in the dark chamber with them?

"Shift us out of here!" Pepper yelled, fear and anxiety lacing her voice.

"All right!" He yelled back, frustrated. The Temple was crumbling around them.

Pepper waited to feel it, the weird pulling sensation that usually comes with moving through light. Nothing happened.

"Gene...why aren't we going anywhere?" Pepper asked timidly over the rumbling of the Temple.

"I don't know." Gene said, "I don't know!" He said again, realizing how dangerous the situation really was. Suddenly, a light went on in Gene's brain. "I can't go anywhere because there's no light." He stated.

"Oh great." Pepper said, frowning, but Gene couldn't see it.

Gene and Pepper felt their way through the chamber.

"Okay, there's a chasm coming up soon." Gene stated matter-of-factly.

"A WHAT?!" Pepper yelled, hearing the whistle as a rock flew past her ear and smashed into the ground next to her. She got down on her hands and knees, feeling for the drop off. They finally came upon it, finding the narrow bridge that stretched across.

"If we get out of this alive, you owe me, Gene." Pepper said, anger boiling into her voice.

"You could be the Queen of the world! And I'll be the King!" Gene shouted over the loud crumble of rocks. (By this time, Gene had taken the rings off so that he could maneuver easier without the bulky armor).

"HA! Ya right." Pepper laughed it off, but knowing that Gene was being completely serious.

Pepper looked around her, still seeing nothing. There was still no light.

* * *

Tony told Rhodey to wait outside the Temple and watch, or to be an emergency back up if needed. Tony blasted through the the stone wall door and flew into the Temple.

He came across a room filled with melting treasure, along with a body burning in the corner. "Oh man...I hope Pepper's all right."

"She will be man, it's okay." Rhodey said through the com system.

* * *

Pepper and Gene still crawled through the Temple, still pitch black. Pepper finally looked up from the ground, noticing a round flickering light coming from the top of the large staircase. Now she could see just how big it was. They weren't even half way.

What was that? Pepper squinted slightly, not even remembering the fact that all they needed was a little light to shift out of the Temple.

The light was moving. "How could that be moving?" She asked out loud.

Gene looked up from behind her, "Light!" He exclaimed happily, reaching down his shirt and grabbing the necklace strung with rings. Just as he did that, he remembered the fact that Pepper still had the last ring. "Pepper. Give me the ring!" He yelled.

Pepper's eyes widened, realizing she was in a tight spot. What if he took it and left without her? But he could do that already.

Gene put all nine rings on, fumbling slightly. The light at the top of the stairs grew stronger.

While Gene was still fumbling with the rings, she made a break for it. She dashed up the stairs as fast as her Cinderella-shoed feet would allow her. "PEPPER!" She heard an angry Gene call from behind her.

Pepper could see the light more clearly. Or, lights...there were more than one. What on earth? Then she could make out a slight form. "Tony?" She asked herself, clumsily moving up the stairs, which were now rocking beneath her. She had to get out of here. Now.

She could see the faint object moving toward her, "Pepper!" She could hear someone call.

"Tony!!" She yelled, trying to run toward him, but falling back a bit. It was like being in a 10.0 earthquake or something, she could barely move anymore.

Rocks were falling all around her. She heard a cracking sound above her and dared to glance up. A huge piece of rock came barreling down through the air straight toward her. She could see the powerful light of Tony's suit come straight for her.

Just as she thought she might be pulverized into oblivion by a terrible rock, something hit her from behind, and in that same instant, she felt the odd pulling sensation. She was moving through light. Gene must have gotten to her before Tony could.

* * *

Tony saw the massive rock hurtling through the air, gravity pulling it down, and it would kill Pepper. And he knew that with all the power his suit had, he wouldn't make it in time. But he used up a good part of his energy trying his hardest. He could make out every detail of Pepper, the fear in her eyes, trying to move out of the way, but to no avail. And then...Gene got to her first.

For once in his life, Tony was actually grateful that Gene was the Mandarin. He had been able to save Pepper when Tony couldn't.

* * *

Pepper landed forcefully onto the clay packed ground outside the Temple. Immediately tears formed in her eyes, it was so bright. Had a whole day passed? It felt like it, that was for sure. Once her eyes finally adjusted, she realized it must have been the early evening at least. It must have been extremely dark in the Temple for her eyes to have been that sensitive.

Pepper stood, looking around her wildly. She could feel the shaking of the Temple through the ground at her feet. "TONY!" She screamed, running back toward the Temple. She felt a hand grab her arm.

"Ow! Let go! I need to find Tony!" She yelled, trying to wrench her arm from Gene's grasp.

"Pepper. It's Tony Stark. You know he'll find a way out without your help." Gene stated.

Pepper turned to look at him, "He needs his friends. Unlike some people I know." Pepper said coldly, prying her arm from his tight grip.

"I brought you here, didn't I?" Gene asked.

"Forcefully! Against my will! That is NOT being a friend, Gene."

Gene looked down for a moment, thinking about something, "Be my Queen. Rule the world with me. That'll make up for it." Gene said. Completely genuine.

Pepper stood, slightly shocked, she knew he hadn't been totally joking back in the Temple, but...it was strange and frightening to hear him say it in a way that was entirely serious.

"No, Gene." Pepper said sadly. She wasn't upset that she knew she shouldn't be Queen, she was upset that Gene had become such a twisted person, a foolish person.

Gene's face contorted first into anger, then into hurt, then, with a determined look on his face, he grabbed Pepper's wrist, pulled her to him, and kissed her full on the lips.

* * *

Tony shot through the opening of the Temple, looking around wildly for a sign of Pepper.

There. He spotted her. She was talking to Gene, backing up from him, shaking her head no. And then out of nowhere, Gene planted his lips right on hers.

Tony's brain seemed to melt. He blinked his eyes a couple of times. Did that really just happen?

Anger and...what was that? Jealousy? Different emotions boiled inside Tony, he could barely stand it. He flew toward them, watching as Pepper pushed Gene away and ran toward Tony.

* * *

Pepper's brain was moving in slow motion. Did he just kiss her? She shoved Gene away from her, but in the process, dropped the ring. Gene bent down, smiling. "Thanks Pepper."

Pepper heard the familiar noise of Tony's super-human suit coming straight for them.

"Pepper!" Tony called.

Pepper stopped in her tracks. She had almost forgotten the words that were whispered to her in the chamber. They thundered through her mind. She turned around to look at Gene, watching him put on all the other rings first and transforming into the Mandarin armor.

It seemed as if she were running in slow motion, "Gene!" She shouted. She finally made it to him, just before he put the last one on. A hopeful look in his face told her he thought that she was rethinking the whole "be my Queen" thing.

"Gene, you have to listen to me, when I grabbed the ring, I heard a voice. It said something about death coming to the person that wears the ring. You can't take it, Gene. You'll die." She whispered, tears coming to her eyes.

Gene's eyes narrowed, "You just don't want me to have it. You want it for yourself!" He yelled, grabbing her wrist and pulling it toward him.

"AH!" Pepper yelled out in pain, "No! Gene! I promise you, that's what it said!" Tears were now streaming down her cheeks.

He shoved Pepper away from him, her knees and hands hitting the ground. "Please, Gene..." She pleaded.

"At last...finally!" He was consumed by his greed, and just before he slipped the last ring on, Tony hit him square in the chest, sending them both flying, not giving Gene the chance to put the ring on.

He clutched the ring tightly while battling Tony at the same time. Pepper was on her feet, watching them fight. Rhodey flew in from his look-out and joined the battle.

"Stop!" She yelled, like that would help.

The Mandarin knocked Rhodey out with a major pummel to the chest and head. He lay there on the hot ground unconscious. Pepper ran over to him, lifting the face plate. "Rhodey, can you hear me?" Pepper said, desperate. She had to get somebody's attention.

Tony was hit by a beam of light and thrown back, giving Pepper her chance. "Gene! You have to believe me! Don't put that ring on, you'll die!" She screamed, running toward him.

Gene completely ignored her. He slipped the last ring on to his finger, power running through him, lighting him up like a miniature sun.

Tony had gotten up, watching Pepper running toward Gene, telling him not to put the ring on, or...he'll die? Was she serious? He started toward Gene, trying to get to him before slipping the ring on his finger.

Too late. Gene put the ring on and became engulfed in light and pulsing with power. Out of the corner of Tony's eye, he saw Pepper collapse to the ground. Confusion raked his brain. What on earth was happening?

The Mandarin advanced on Tony, shifting like the speed of light, slamming his fist up and under Tony's ribs and into his abdomen. Tony flew twenty feet through the air before he could even register the pain. He hit the ground, skidding for awhile before coming to a stop. Tony finally regained enough strength before sitting up and looking for Gene.

Tony spotted him about thirty feet away, standing over Pepper, who was still on the ground. He shot through the air, hitting his side and sending him into an outcropping of rocks. When he hit, it felt as though a sonic boom resonated through the air. Tony looked down at Pepper. She was writhing in pain, her jaw was clenched, her hands were balled into fists clutching at the ground, she cried out, sweat drenching her forehead.

Tony knelt down beside her, lifting her into his arms, "Pepper! Pepper, what's going on?!" Tony said, completely confused, only wanting to end her suffering.

"The last....ring..." she gulped down some air, "brings the final...torment...it ends...in Gene's death..." she choked out. Tears were making tracks down her cheeks.

Tony's eyes widened, "I have to kill Gene?"

Pepper shook her head, "The rings...will kill him..."

Tony shook his head, "Maybe I can make him take them off."

Pepper's lip quivered, "It may be too late." She coughed, wrapping her arms around her stomach, her teeth clenching together even tighter. She felt as though she would explode, it was like the pain back in the Temple, only ten times more intense.

Tony turned toward Gene with Pepper in his arms, "Gene, I'm sorry you didn't listen." Tony almost started to choke up. "Take off the rings!"

Gene was burning even brighter with power, he laughed, bringing his hands up to look at the rings. "This feels incredible! You think I would give this up?!" He yelled in triumph.

Tony could only look at him with despair, knowing his end was near.

* * *

Further up, at a high point on the mountain, sat Gene's "Band of Brothers". They watched with amazement, the power that their leader had, not even noticing Iron Man.

Their leader's form was so great and bright, it felt as though the regular day were night. They would finally have the power they wanted. They would rule the world together. Too bad they didn't realize the build up of energy would only destroy their "brother".

* * *

"Gene! You can turn away from this!" Tony yelled, gripping Pepper in his arms, she still convulsed every minute or so with the intense pain that the weight of the last ring had on her.

"Never, Tony. All my life I've waited for this!" Gene's voice seemed to be amplified.

Rhodey had woken from his unconsciousness, not even second guessing a straight shot at Gene. He blasted straight for him, hitting him in the back. It did nothing to Gene, but blasted Rhodey into the air, sending him flying more than two hundred yards.

"Rhodey!" Tony yelled, panic going through him. If Gene had power like that, who knows what he could do? And when the power could no longer be sustained within his body, what would happen? Would he explode? Tony used his armor to calculate the amount of energy build-up that Gene had.

"989% build-up of power. Extremely dangerous. Only 1,000% attainable." The computer read aloud. Tony didn't know exactly how much time they had left, maybe a minute, maybe seconds, but he had to get himself and Pepper out of there.

Gene laughed madly when Rhodey was thrown through the air, "No one can defeat me!" He yelled. The power intensified, and Gene started to feel pain.

Pepper's suffering dulled slightly, and she knew it would be over soon. "Tony...Tony, you have to get out of here..." She wheezed.

Tony nodded, shooting into the air with Pepper in his arms, and going in the direction that Rhodey had been thrown.

Tony met Rhodey half way, motioning to him to turn around and follow him. Pepper was trying desperately to hang on to consciousness, the speed Tony was going was not helping much either. Once they were a safe distance away, they stopped by a small abandoned village.

Gene stood in all his glory, feeling the power, but also an overwhelming amount of pain. He crouched, trying to use his power in some way to compensate it, to balance it out, somehow.

"What's...happening...to me?!" He groaned, collapsing to one knee.

Pepper could feel the pain slowly leave her. "It's happening, he'll be gone soon..." Pepper whimpered.

Tony could only hug her to him, careful not to crush her with the extra strength his suit had.

Gene was on his hands and knees, he couldn't even talk, the pain and power were overwhelming him. "Pepper...she was right..." He moaned.

* * *

The brotherhood of men stood at the top of the mount, watching the scene unfold before them. Their master crouched on the ground, writhing in pain. "What is he doing?" One asked.

"Yes, what is he doing? He should be showing the world his power! And command them to bow before him!" As much as that sounded like a good plan to them, it was not in Gene's schedule.

* * *

Gene stood, screaming in pain.

And Pepper felt no more pain.

Gene's screams echoed throughout the area, bouncing off of the mountain sides and reverberating through the valley. The immense energy built up in Gene's body could no longer hold. The silver armor began to disintegrate, along with Gene. In a flash of light and power with the force of three atomic bombs, it lit the darkening sky like noon day. A wave of force moved across the valley.

Pepper now stood next to Tony, her mouth agape, "He's gone..." She whispered, even more tears cascading down her light skin. Pepper walked ahead, toward where she had seen the huge eruption, "Goodbye, Gene..." She whimpered, starting to sob. She had never truly let go of her feelings for Gene. She had thought he could change.

Tony noticed a giant wave of energy heading their way. "Pepper!" Tony called, hoping she would notice. Pepper only stood in shock, not being able to completely take in what had just happened. Tony stepped in front of Pepper, facing her.

Tony opened his face plate, "We need to go, Pepper. We have to leave." Tony anxiously looked behind him. The wave was getting closer. "Pepper..." Tony whispered, touching her cheek gently.

She finally made eye contact with him and nodded. Tony whisked her up into his arms and took off into the air, Rhodey behind him in a heartbeat. Pepper glanced behind her, "Goodbye, Gene..." she whispered for the second time.

* * *

The men of the brotherhood standing upon the mount watched in shock as their leader literally exploded in a great blast of light and energy. After waiting out the initial aftershocks of the blast, they climbed down to the bottom of the valley where there was now a huge crater.

"We will never forget you, brother. We will seek power in your memory, you will never be forgotten. Not by us." One of them said, he turned to the group of more than one hundred men, "Let us seek what our leader gained! Although he died for it, we will seek the next greatest power in his memory!" He shouted. The group of men all raised their fists, shouting, "The Ten Rings! Power will be ours!"

* * *

Ta da!!! Whew! That was a much longer chapter right there. Hope you enjoyed it! InTeNsE! That's what I call it. Reviews would be splendid! Thanks :) I don't really like flames though...


	6. Chapter 6

Hey, I know it's been a while since I last updated. Well, not really THAT long, but I thought I'd just throw you this chapter to mind-chew for the day. Hope you like it :)

* * *

Chapter Six

Tony had flown all the way home with Pepper in his arms. Tony didn't think it would be very comfortable, but all Pepper would say was, "I'm fine..." very quietly, her eyes staring off at the horizon. Tony and Rhodey landed at the armory, safe and sound. Tony carried a sleepy Pepper to a makeshift bed (in other words: couch with a blanket) in the corner of the room in front of a TV. By now, it was 3:00 a.m.

Tony removed the Iron Man armor and helped Rhodey with his. Tony flipped on CNN News, "Back to you, Erica." An anchor said. "Thanks, Rick. Here in Afghanistan, by the Helmand River, an enormous boom shook the area. People close by thought it was an earthquake, or the end of the world. Scientists have found a gigantic crater in the ground, and they have no idea what caused it yet. So far, it's still a mystery. People that heard it say it was around 7:30 in the evening..."

Tony turned the TV off and sat down next to Pepper, who was stirring from her sleep. "Tony?" She mumbled.

"Ya?" He asked quietly.

"Was it all real?" She asked, her voice quivering.

"I'm sorry Pep...yes, it was." He laid his hand on top of hers, squeezing it gently.

She nodded slightly, tears glistening in her eyes. "What time is it?" She asked, out of the blue.

"Oh, it's uh...3:20 in the morning." He said.

"3:20?!" She sat up abruptly. "I need to get ready! I've got work in a couple of hours!" She exclaimed, throwing the blanket off of her and pacing around the armory.

"Pepper, it's Saturday...do you work on the weekends?" He asked.

"Oh. No. I don't....Where's my blackberry?" She asked, frantic.

"I don't know, you're the only thing I picked up when we left from Afghanistan. Maybe you left it there." Tony supplied.

"Oh no, that's not good. That had everything I needed in it!" She said, throwing her hands in the air.

"Um...I don't think you can pack clothes and a toothbrush into a blackberry phone." Rhodey piped up from the table in the middle of the room.

Pepper deadpanned at Rhodey, "Are you serious, Rhodey? I meant other things, like scheduled meetings, and when I'm supposed to be to something, or...I don't know! Just other things!" She yelled.

"Okay, calm down, Pepper." Tony said, grabbing her shoulders. "You'll be fine. Just show up to work on Monday at the regular time, and hopefully things will just work out on their own."

Pepper nodded, "Okay, but I'm not very happy about it." She pouted.

"Well, I'm not flying all the way back to Afghanistan just to look for your cell phone. It could have fallen when you were in the Temple, and I'm not going back in there." Tony said.

"I know, I know...maybe I wrote some things down that will remind me." She said, exasperated. "Sorry, I'm just trying to adjust to everything that's happened, and somehow, worrying about other things is the only way that will clear my mind."

Tony nodded, concern in his eyes, "I know, I can't really believe it either."

Rhodey stood from the table, "I have to head off. We're doing some flight exercises today that they asked me to come to. I'll probably grab a nap and then go." He muttered, walking toward the door of the armory. Everyone seemed a little flustered and the situation itself just felt a bit surreal.

Tony nodded, "All right, we'll see you later, Rhodey."

Pepper went around the corner into the bathroom. She looked in the mirror and was honestly shocked. Her hair was a complete mess, her eyes were bloodshot, there were bags under them and her clothes were torn and dirty. She lifted up her pant legs to find bruises and cuts, along with her arms. "I am a complete mess..." She sighed.

Pepper went back out to find Tony, "Hey Tony?"

"Ya?" He said.

"Do you have any sweats here? I need to shower, but I don't have anything to change into." She said, slightly uncomfortable.

"Ya, sure!" He got up from his chair and meandered over to an old dresser they had stashed with emergency clothes and other needs.

He pulled out a pair of sweats and a T-shirt, handing them to Pepper. "Here you are."

Pepper took them, giving a small smile.

Tony put his hands in his pockets, "You know, I could just fly you to your apartment, if you'd like." Tony said.

Pepper thought about it for a moment. "Well...that would be nice, but I don't really feel like being alone for the rest of the early morning..." She said, "I know I won't be able to go to sleep for awhile."

Tony nodded understandingly, "All right, we can hang out here." He smiled.

"Okay, thanks Tony." Pepper smiled back and went to the bathroom to start her shower.

Pepper turned on the hot water and stepped in. She scrubbed at the dirt and cleaned her various cuts and washed her hair. She stood, silent tears rolling down her cheeks. With the pounding of the water, she knew she could cry and nobody would hear. So she did. She sat down at the bottom of the shower and cried, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Oh Gene, I'm so sorry...I wish I could have helped you." She whispered.

Tony stood outside of the armory, grabbing a quick breath of fresh air. He still couldn't quite believe what had happened only hours ago. He ran the whole scenario over in his head. He remembered shooting out of the Temple, grateful that Gene had been good enough to grab Pepper before she was crushed, but then feeling completely jealous and angry when Gene had kissed Pepper, just to get what he wanted.

Tony would never have done that. He went back to the movie reel in his head, seeing the kiss over and over again, how she had pushed him away, tears in her eyes, starting to run toward him...He put a hand over his face and let out a deep breath. "It's over. No more worrying about the Ten Rings." He reassured himself.

Oh how wrong he was.

Tony meandered back into the armory, walking past the bathroom on his way to the small fridge, packed with water bottles and other snacks. He heard silent cries, sniffling, and...talking? He stepped closer to the door, pressing his ear up against it. He knew it was a bit invasive, but if he knew Pepper, he knew that she was probably crying.

"I'm so sorry....so sorry." He heard her mumble, the water of the shower drowning it out a little.

Tony closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. He stepped to the side of the door and waited for just a couple minutes.

Pepper finally got up after a little while when the water started to turn cold and turned off the shower, grabbing a towel and drying herself off, putting on Tony's sweats and T-shirt, along with a hooded sweatshirt. She towel dried her hair, letting the natural waves of her hair take affect, and stepped out of the bathroom, finding Tony right next to the door, his eyebrows raised.

"You sure took awhile in there..." He trailed off.

Pepper shrugged her shoulders, "It felt nice to be clean again." She offered a small smile to cool his nerves, but he didn't believe it. This was Tony Stark she was talking to.

"Then how come your eyes are so red?" He asked, giving her a half smile of understanding. "And I think I heard some sniffling."

Pepper looked down to the floor, she knew all he wanted to do was help her, to comfort her. "I'm sorry, I'm just still not quite over the shock of it all yet, I guess. It'll take awhile." She said, almost whispered it.

Tony took her hand in his, "Come here." He said quietly, pulling her to him. He hugged her, letting her cry.

"Oh Tony, why couldn't we save him?" She cried, leaning against him, her face up against his chest. She could feel the hard Arc Reactor beneath his shirt.

"He just wouldn't listen to us, Pepper. It'll be all right." He said, rubbing her back for a minute. He pulled away from her, grabbing her hand and leading her to the couch. They sat down and Tony flipped on the TV.

After awhile of watching random early morning shows, Pepper was fast asleep, leaning against Tony. He looked her over, inspecting her. She seemed tired beyond belief. She probably saw or heard things in that Temple that he would never know about. He lifted up the baggy sleeves of his sweatshirt that she wore past her elbows, careful not to wake her. He found various cuts and bruises, her hands having some of the worst. He carefully maneuvered her in a comfortable position before he moved off of the couch.

He checked her feet and her knees, which also had some of the worst bruising he had ever seen. Discounting his own. Those kinds of things came with the job of being Iron Man. Tony grabbed disinfectant from a safety kit along with band-aids and gauze for the bigger cuts. He dressed her wounds carefully, trying not to wake her up.

When he was close to being finished, he realized that there was blood on the couch where she was laying. Blood? But he had checked her over, hadn't he gotten everything? And none of her cuts were big enough to be bleeding that much.

Pepper was sleeping soundly on her right side, her back pressed against the couch. She moved slightly and winced, her eyes fluttered open for a moment and her mouth opened in a grimace. She moved more onto her back, her (or Tony's shirt and sweatshirt) moved up a little, exposing her side.

Tony peered over her and looked at her right side. "Oh." He said, letting out a low whistle. "Ouch." He whispered, eyeing the painful looking gash on Pepper's right side. "That might need stitches..." He said to himself. He grabbed more gauze and disinfectant and started to clean it.

"AH!" Pepper yelled. Her eyes flew open, staring wildly at Tony, swatting his hand away at the same time. "What did you do? That hurt!" She said.

Tony seemed a little surprised by the sudden outburst. "Sorry, you had cuts all over you, and I noticed that there was blood on the couch!" Tony said in defense.

Pepper frowned, finally noticing all of the pain that was setting in. "Oh man, I feel so sore...and I hurt. It stings." She pouted.

"Can I at least clean it?" Tony asked, "I don't want it to get infected. I'll take you to the hospital when you want to go." He said calmly.

Pepper nodded, "That's fine."

Tony proceeded to clean it, hearing a hiss of pain from Pepper every now and then, her fingers clutching the matching couch pillow.

"There, all done." Tony said, sitting down and putting his arm over her. She still didn't move. He leaned closer and whispered, "Pep, you're okay now." When she didn't move, he started to run his fingers through her hair softly.

"I know." She said finally, quietly. "I'm just thinking."

"Care to share?" Tony asked.

"Just about pain. And what I felt before...." She trailed off, not wanting to say it.

Tony just nodded, "I didn't understand fully what was happening, Pepper. I'm sorry."

Pepper turned her head to look at him, "I guess the one that took the ring inside the Temple had to bear the pain if it was reunited with the other rings. Then it slowly siphoned from me to...him. I was just a storehouse for pain." Tears glistened in her eyes, threatening to spill.

Tony traced her jaw with his thumb, letting it rest just below her lips. "I'm sorry, Pepper. I wish I could have done something for you back there. For awhile, I wasn't sure if you were going to make it. I didn't know how bad it really was." He said truthfully.

Pepper sighed, closing her eyes, "Well, I'm still here." She said, a ghost of a smile forming on her lips.

"Why don't you get some more rest? When you wake up, I'll take you to the hospital." Tony leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

"Mmmkay..." Was all Pepper mumbled before falling asleep.

Tony took a few minutes to run over to the Rhodes' house and make some breakfast, startling Roberta as she was making her own breakfast. It was about 6:30 a.m.

"Tony! Oh my, I didn't see you there." She said, surprised.

"Oh! Hi, sorry. Rhodey didn't tell you we were here? Me and Pepper are just at the warehouse, she's not feeling very well, so I'm just going to make me and her some breakfast." He supplied, hoping she would buy it. Knowing her, she wouldn't. But she wasn't one to ask many questions when it came to Tony Stark.

"Uh huh....Well, you two have fun. I'm going to work. Bye, Tony." She said as she walked down the hall to the front door.

"Oh, ya, bye!" Tony called while grabbing a frying pan.

Tony made it back to the armory and Pepper was still asleep.

Pepper stirred when she started registering the smell of food. "Mmmm..." She got up off the couch and took a seat beside Tony, wincing every now and then when the bandages pulled on her skin in the various different places of her cuts.

"Thanks Tony." She said, slowly sitting down, "I feel like a grandma."

Tony laughed, "Uh...well, you definitely don't look like one."

Pepper smiled genuinely for what seemed like the first time in 36 hours.

The day went by pretty uneventfully. Tony took Pepper to the hospital, then took her to her apartment and helped her get settled in for a nap before heading to his own. He pulled his car up and got out. Tony's apartment was nicer than most, that was for sure. He quickly took a shower and changed into clean clothes before heading over to Stark Industries.

Tony went through the glass doors of his building, noticing how quiet it was. It was a Saturday evening, obviously no one would be there, or really should be there. But he was anyway. He couldn't seem to stay away, really.

Tony headed up to his office on the fifth floor, waiting for the familiar Ding! of the elevator before the doors opened. He took a deep breath and stepped into the hall, then opened the nice oak double doors to his office. He strode inside, letting the door swing shut behind him. He looked up to see someone standing on the other side of the room, looking out the floor to ceiling windows.

"Hello?" Tony asked cautiously. "The building is closed for the day..." He trailed off.

The figure turned around, and Tony could not believe his eyes.

"Dad?"

"Hi, Tony. It's nice to see you again." Howard Stark smiled warmly at his son for the first time in almost seven years.

* * *

All righty then! I still have a ways to go, but I hope you've liked the story so far!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"How on earth did you get out of there?" Tony asked, incredulous. He felt like he was walking through a dream, and that at any moment, he would wake up, and none of it had ever happened.

They were now sitting at the desk, in the middle of a conversation. Howard looked down at his hands, thinking.

"Well, the Mandarin kept me in his hide-out, some kind of ancient ruin. At first he kept me in a regular cell, but then when he had gained more power from obtaining the other rings, he set up a perimeter in which I was able to walk around, feed myself, it was like I was just living there. But I couldn't leave. The perimeter he set was magical. I couldn't get out, and believe me, I tried many different things when no one was there." He paused for a moment.

"So many times when I was there, just sitting and reading books he had shoved in my face, he would talk to himself. He actually mentioned you a few times. That you were helping him." Howard gave Tony a stern look.

"Uh....okay, I didn't know he was the Mandarin. He didn't show up in that armor when he wanted to talk to me. We were...friends." Tony explained, looking down at the floor.

Howard nodded suspiciously, but didn't ask anything else. He took a deep breath, "Then...something happened, I'm still not sure what, but the magical perimeter disappeared. Just yesterday. I left, and no one was around to put me back where I had been."

Tony frowned, "Yesterday? How did you get here?"

Howard smiled, "Oh, I padded around in the forest for awhile. I had no idea where I was. But finally I made my way out of the forest where I found a dirt road. I hitch-hiked from there and got to a run-down airport. When I finally reached New York, well...they were definitely shocked to see me after all this time."

"Where were you?" Tony asked, "Where was Gene's hideout?"

Howard thought for a moment, "His hideout was somewhere in the jungle. I didn't ask the people that found me to tell me where I was. I didn't think I should know, just in case I ever feel like trying to going back there again for additional clues to the rings." He paused for a minute, "Did you say, Gene?"

Tony blinked, not understanding the question. "Wait, you didn't know that the Mandarin was Gene?" He asked, "He never showed you his true identity?"

Howard shook his head, "No, he never did. His name was Gene? And what did he look like? How old was he?"

Tony explained to his dad what he looked like, and that he was only Tony's age, along with the fact that they had seen him die out in the middle-eastern desert.

"How sad...so propelled with the desire for power, it ended up killing him." Howard said. "So I guess there aren't any more rings to look for then, I suppose."

Tony nodded, "This is all really still just a dream to me. Some parts feel like nightmares, and others feel like paradise. I mean, you're back! And my friends are okay...well, except for Gene, I guess, who wasn't really a friend after all."

Howard smiled, "Sometimes you never really know the true identity of your closest friends."

Tony nodded again, "Ya, you're right. Well, I'm glad you're here, dad. And I'm glad I don't have to run the company alone anymore."

Howard laughed, "Yes, very true. I'll still be here to help you. That's for sure." His face crinkled with wrinkles when he laughed, and Tony couldn't help but be surprised by how much his dad had aged. Six, almost seven years had passed...of course he was older. He was now fifty years old. So many years were lost, hopefully he'd have some time with his dad to make up for them.

* * *

Years had gone by, Tony was about 24 now, both his dad and himself had befriended Obadiah Stane, rethinking his abilities within the company and slowly regaining that trust link between them. He had softened a little, and Tony couldn't help but see the father qualities finally showing through, after all these years.

Whitney had gone on to Paris to become a fashion designer and critic, one of the best in the world. She called Tony every now and then, but he didn't seem to keep interest in her, so she found a pretty handsome (and ridiculously rich) Frenchman to keep her company.

Rhodey was now a top ranking official within the National Air Guard, focusing on Weapons Development. Tony was definitely his link to that accomplishment. If you had Tony Stark complimenting you on a resumé, all you needed were the test scores and you were in.

Pepper still worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. and had not gotten anywhere with them. She had long lost her wish to become an actual field agent, and had worked up enough money to attend school. She realized her potential in the financial department and started there, working her way through schooling. Math was her cup of tea, that was for sure.

Tony's father had passed away in a tragic car accident, which left him in a shocked grief. Pepper and Rhodey had accompanied him at the funeral, and spent more time with him than usual. But that didn't stop Tony from becoming a little more of a risk-taker, flying out in the Iron Man armor at the smallest chance of terrorist activity, or even if a cat were stuck in a tree, he would be there to help. His obsession with getting out of his own life and living the life of a hero started to consume him. He left Stark Industries to none other than Obadiah Stane, telling him that he just couldn't handle the stress of holding up a company. Taking some time off would do him some good.

Tony still checked in with Stark Industries, making sure Obadiah wasn't doing anything tricky, and seeing that all was well made him happy. He spent countless hours in the armory, perfecting his Iron Man suit, revamping security around the place and installing new equipment. Rhodey visited every now and then, more often than Pepper, who was still ridiculously busy with school and S.H.I.E.L.D.

* * *

Two years later when Tony finally felt confident in his abilities, he took back Stark Industries, but kept Obadiah there for moral support. Tony honestly believed that the man had changed. Tony had decided that it was in the company's best interest to expand to other parts of the country, setting up a new and improved Stark Industries in California. Which was also where he found an extremely large, and an extremely expensive new house (more like mansion). It sat at the top of a cliff, looking down at the beautiful ocean below it, his own beach front property further down at the bottom of the cliffs. It was huge, it was perfect, and it was...unnecessary.

"What on earth are you going to do with this place?" Rhodey asked, his mouth hanging open at the site of it.

"I'm going to make it my own...you'll see." Tony winked, "Oh, and I'll throw parties. And you'll be invited."

Rhodey nodded, "Oh right, okay. That makes perfect sense. Just buy the house for the parties." He said sarcastically. "Oh hey, Tony?" Rhodey asked.

"Uh, ya?" Tony called from an adjacent room in the gigantic mansion.

"I forgot to tell you, but I'm getting transferred here, to California. Sweet huh? So we can still hang out." Rhodey said.

"Oh awesome! Ya, that'll be great!" Tony called. He was definitely pre-occupied with surveying his new house, ideas rambling through his brain.

* * *

More years went by, Tony was now 28, and installing a new system into his house called JARVIS. He was pretty excited with the project. This would make things easier. And less lonely. But he wouldn't tell anyone that.

Rhodey came by every now and then, life was good, and the business with the company kept him on his toes, but...he was still slipping, ever so slowly. He had gotten himself caught in a dangerous web of the press, the fame, letting his ego get the best of him. He was not only a rich businessman, he was an absolute celebrity, and Obadiah was the crutch that kept everything going behind the scenes.

* * *

Pepper, now 27 years old, sat in a conference room at S.H.I.E.L.D. the door opened and in walked Nick Fury. "Hello Pepper." He said, his voice bored.

"Hello Mr. Fury." She said, just as bored-ly.

"You were late today." He stated, in front of a whole room full of associates.

"Was I? I recall that I was here precisely at 7:00 a.m., as usual." She said firmly, "You'll see it on my time card."

"Mmmm....right. Well, you forgot to pick up my coffee and my dry cleaning." He said.

"Since when did you ask me to do that for you?" Pepper asked.

"I left you a message last night on your home phone." He said, not even looking at her. The entire room, filled with people sitting at the conference table, sat uncomfortably in the rising tension.

"I don't have a home phone, Mr. Fury." Pepper said, getting beyond frustrated. This was at least the tenth weird thing he had requested of her for the past couple of months. No, not months. Years.

"The point is, Ms. Potts, is that you are becoming incompetent. You should get your act together before I find someone new." He stated.

Pepper gaped at him. "Are you serious? You've got to be kidding."

She stood up from her chair abruptly, "I have done everything you have asked me to do for the past SEVEN years, no more than that! And this is what you're telling me right now?! I have HAD IT with you and your stupid little problems, you're a lazy man that doesn't know how to do his own laundry, that WON'T listen to what others have to say, and you don't respect them. Now how would you expect them to treat you?!"

She slammed her planner and folder filled with notes down on the table. "If this is what I'm going to be putting up with, then I quit." She stated firmly, throwing the folder of notes at Nick Fury. Paper flew everywhere.

"Good luck with your financial problems. I doubt you'll find an accountant as good as me." She threw open the door and proudly walked out, leaving a slightly surprised Nick Fury and an even more surprised board of directors behind.

Only a few days later, Pepper sat in her apartment, looking around. She had nothing to do. No work to do, no job to be to, and no more school. She had saved enough money to last her a couple of years. But she didn't want to just do nothing for that time.

What on earth was there to do? She sat at her computer for awhile. She was on a News website where she saw a short report on the new weapons development of Stark Industries all the way out in California. Pepper's eyes widened and a smile lit up her face. She bought a plane ticket online and packed some things for her trip to California.

* * *

Tony Stark sat in his office, awaiting the arrival of the next woman to interview. He had gone through names and pictures of women that were "capable" of the job. The job being, Tony's P.A. He was going insane with everything he needed to do. He needed help. And he wasn't ashamed to admit it, especially when there was a good looking woman involved. No, rephrase that. He would only admit that he needed help when there was a woman involved.

He sat patiently in his office, a woman that looked to be about his age entered the room. Her hair was a bit frazzled, she looked tired, and she didn't smell all that great either.

"Hi...what's your name?" Tony said, hoping to get this interview over with.

"Beatrice." She stated, her voice a bit nasally.

"Ah, yes...here you are." He picked up her file from the many on his desk and looked it over. She looked much better in her picture. Plus, you can't smell through a picture. How would he know she smelled weird?

They went through the interview, already coming to the conclusion that she was not the person to hire, and told her sorry. Even though he really wasn't...

The next girl that came in was indeed beautiful, but had absolutely no brain.

"So...do you have any kind of degree?" Tony asked hopefully.

"Degree in what? What are you looking for? I'll be whoever you want me to be." She said, licking her lips, "I can take pictures pretty good. I went to a photography school for awhile, but got kicked out." She said, smiling and laughing a little.

"And why was that?" Tony asked, frowning.

"Well...wouldn't you like to know?" She said, trying to act sexy.

"Okay...thank you for your time, I'll contact you later about whether or not you get a second interview." He said, getting up and opening the door for her.

He sat back down at his desk, his head in his hands. "I am getting nowhere with this."

A quiet knock at the door sounded. He didn't think he had anymore interviews, so it must be Obadiah. "Come in..." He said, his eyes closed, ready to receive whatever was coming for him.

"Hello Tony." A familiar voice said, he couldn't quite place it.

He looked up to see a beautiful tall red-head dressed in a black dress and black stiletto shoes. Her face was specked with freckles and her eyes were a perfect green. She smiled for a moment, showing perfectly straight white teeth. Tony couldn't believe his eyes.

"Pepper?" He asked, surprised.

He hastily got up from his chair and stood in front of her, his eyes wide. "I haven't seen you in so long." He said quietly.

Tony hugged her, startling Pepper, who laughed, "Oh! Hi, Tony...how are you?"

Tony let go of her and stood back to examine her, "You are so different!" He smiled, "What brought you here?" He asked, derailing the last train of thought and moving on to a different one.

"Oh, well...there's something I thought you could help me with." She said sheepishly.

Tony motioned for her to sit down while he sat back down in his chair. "Well, ask away. I'll see what I can do."

Pepper took a deep breath, "I quit my job with S.H.I.E.L.D. because I couldn't stand it anymore. Almost ten years with that man was driving me up the wall. I have a degree in finance and work numbers to no end. Is there any job that you could offer me?" Pepper asked, hoping he had something.

Tony smiled and starting laughing, "Oh man! This is absolutely perfect!" He said, standing back up, "Pepper, would you be my P.A.?" Tony asked, almost like he was proposing to her.

"Your...P.A.?" She repeated, "As in, Personal Assistant? Like, handle all of your day to day stuff and financial whatnots and meetings and everything?" She clarified.

"Yup! That's pretty much it." Tony said. "Oh, and...you'll make a ton of money. A TON." He emphasized. "Probably three times as much as what you made with Mr. Fury." He made a funny face at the mention of Pepper's old boss.

Pepper couldn't help but smile. This was the Tony she knew, and who else would she want to work for, really? "I'm in." She said.

Little did she know, she would almost literally be doing everything for him, but it was different with Tony. A good different.


	8. Chapter 8

Okay....So, it's been FOREVER since I've last updated, and I'm really sorry about that. You guys probably think I've fallen off the face of the planet or something. I saw Iron Man 2 this past weekend and LOVED it! I would recommend seeing it, for sure. And...if you haven't seen Iron Man 1, I would also recommend seeing that one, since my story is merging into that one. Hope you guys still like my story...Oh, and in my version of the movie, Tony's a bit more...humble. Hahaha

* * *

Chapter 8

After all these long years, the "Brotherhood" that Gene had adopted along his search for the last ring had grown to thousands of men within the territory. Their obsession: Power. All they want is what would be considered as the ultimate weapon. And the man that had risen in weapons development was Tony Stark. He was famous across the globe.

Their leader was one of the original men that followed the Mandarin, his name: Arash, meaning hero. They believed he would be the one to lead them into a new age. Arash knew that Tony Stark was their ticket to fame.

* * *

"Tony Stark." A voice sounded from the speakers around them.

"Visionary." It said, "Genius. American Patriot." The voice read through those adjectives at a dramatic pace. "Even from an early age, the son of legendary weapons developer Howard Stark, quickly stole the spotlight with his brilliant and unique mind."

It paused for a moment while pictures rolled across the large screen.

"At age four, he built his first circuit board. At age six, his first engine. And at 18, he graduated summa cum laude from the Prestigious Tomorrow Academy." The music shifted to something a little more sad.

"Then, the passing of a titan. Howard Stark's lifelong friend and ally, Obadiah Stane, steps in to help fill the gap left by the legendary founder, until, at age 26, the prodigal son returns and is anointed the new CEO of Stark Industries."

More pictures flashed across the screen.

"With the keys to the kingdom, Tony ushers in a new era for his father's legacy, creating smarter weapons, advanced robotics, satellite targeting."

"Today, Tony Stark has changed the face of the weapons industry by ensuring freedom and protecting America and her interests around the globe." Applause and cheers rang out through the audience as the short movie of pictures ended.

Rhodey climbed the small staircase and moved to the podium, "As liaison to Stark Industries, I've had the unique privilege of serving with a real patriot. He is my friend and he is my great mentor."

He paused for a moment, holding up a trophy-like statue in his hand, "Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to present this year's Apogee Award to Mr. Tony Stark." Rhodey smiled, waiting to see a familiar form rise in the audience to come claim his prize.

"Tony?" Rhodey asked, his heart sinking.

Obadiah shook his head from his seat, then got up and made his way to the front. "Thank you, Colonel." Obadiah said.

Rhodey nodded, "Thanks for the save."

Obadiah chuckled, raising the award. "This is beautiful. Thank you. Thank you all very much!" He called out to the audience.

"Well...I'm not Tony Stark." He said, shrugging his shoulders slightly, the audience laughing.

"But, if I were Tony, I would tell you how honored I felt and what a joy it is to receive this very prestigious award. Tony, you know...the best thing about Tony, is also the worst thing. He's always working."

And that is just what Tony Stark was doing.

Back at his mansion, working on the Iron Man suit. He squinted slightly, trying to get a clear image of what he was working on. Tony could hear heavy high-heel clad footsteps upstairs. Pounding footsteps.

"Uh oh..." Tony mumbled to himself. He could hear those footsteps enter the stairway to the basement garage area, where he was located.

Then came the tapping of fingers on the clear plasma key screen just outside the glass door. The door swished open, and in walked....Pepper Potts.

"Tony." She said sternly, glaring at his back.

Tony was almost afraid to turn around. Almost. "Yes, Pepper?" Tony asked sweetly, turning around.

"Why weren't you there to accept your award today?" She said, her hands on her hips.

"Uh....I was working." He turned and waved his hands at the Iron Man suit, "On this!" He gave a broad smile.

Pepper looked up at the ceiling, breathing deeply. "You know, it wouldn't hurt you to just stop in somewhere for just a half an hour and give a small speech and accept that award."

Tony winced, "Pepper, I'm sorry. I really am, I just got so caught up in this that I-"

"That THING is always the reason, Tony." She said, pointing at the suit. "I wish you would think about something other than that suit. Next time, provide me with a different excuse." She said coldly, and left the room, climbing back up the stairs.

Tony let out a low whistle. "Maybe she's right..." He mused, looking back at the suit.

Later that day Rhodey swung by. "Rhodey, I'm sorry." Was the first thing Tony said as Rhodey walked through the door.

Rhodey put a hand up to signal Tony to stop. "Pepper told me. It's all right Tony, you're just lucky you weren't there when my anger was a level nine. I've simmered down a bit."

Tony looked down at the floor. "Really, I am sorry though."

Rhodey nodded, "I know, Tony. You are every time. But at least I know it's something important, not just you running off with some girl all the time."

Tony smirked, "What if I were running away with Pepper all the time? Would you be so angry?" He couldn't help but laugh.

"Oh dude, Pepper won't fall for you, man. Not anymore. She's too good for you." Rhodey said, punching Tony's shoulder playfully.

"Oooh, ouch. Took that right to the heart, Rhodey." Tony mocked.

They moved from the entryway to the living room. "You ready for Afghanistan in a couple of months?" Rhodey asked, sitting down on the nice white sofa.

"I think so. The missile is ready, so I think it'll go smoothly." Rhodey nodded. "Please don't make me wait. The last time we did this you went off in the suit and didn't come back till four hours after we were supposed to leave for Japan."

Tony laughed, "Ya, sorry about that...I couldn't help it. A lady was in trouble."

Rhodey rolled his eyes, "Someone is ALWAYS in trouble, Tony. Always. You can't protect everybody. Sometimes not even yourself."

Tony nodded, "I know, I know. I won't let you down this time, Rhodey. I won't make you stand there and wait for me like last time."

Rhodey looked intensely at Tony for a moment. "What?" Tony asked, "I won't! I won't fly off somewhere. I promise."

Rhodey leaned back against the sofa, picking up a drink from the table. "You better not, or you'll have me to deal with when you get back."

Tony laughed, "Oh, I'm so scared."

* * *

Arash stood, watching his men load some signature "Stark Weaponry" into some vehicles. The Ten Rings had gained a lot of ground, they were in the process of taking Gulmira, a small town to the north of their camp. One of the men they had taken hostage was a scientist, one of the best in their area. Arash stood on the foothills of the mountain range where their previous leader, Gene Khan had taken them to find the Temple.

He looked down at the large basin, at the crater that had been formed when their leader had been killed by the power of the rings. They had never stopped their search for power after Gene had died. Years later, Arash was finally able to come into contact with an insider within Stark Industries. Someone that had access to all the new weapons. So far they were in an agreement that he would provide them with weapons, IF they got rid of someone for him.

Arash didn't know who this "someone" was, but that he would be delivered to them soon. If their contact wanted someone to disappear, he would make sure it would happen, as long as they got their weapons.

* * *

The next morning, Pepper opened the door to the Stark mansion, "Hello Miss Potts." Jarvis stated.

"Hello, Jarvis. Is Tony awake yet?" Pepper asked kindly, getting over her anger from yesterday.

"No, ma'am. He is still asleep."

Pepper rolled her eyes and started toward Tony's room, which was on the opposite side of the mansion.

"Miss Potts?" Jarvis asked tentatively, if a computer could have a personality, at least.

"Yes Jarvis?" Pepper stopped walking.

"Mr. Stark is not in his bedroom. He is in the work shop." Jarvis said.

Pepper closed her eyes, this was not the first time he had fallen asleep down there, working on either that THING or the car. She let out a long breath and started for the stairs. "Thank you, Jarvis."

Tony was fast asleep on the couch in the basement. When Pepper first came to work for Tony, she had been thoroughly surprised to see that old sofa, here in this nice, perfect mansion. He had dragged it out of the armory in New York and shipped it here himself. It still had her blood stain on it too. Tony rolled over, almost falling off of the couch.

How on earth was that thing even comfortable anymore? Pepper made her way around the various tables and objects placed, rather haphazardly, around the room until she came to the couch with her boss sleeping on it peacefully.

"Tony..." Pepper whispered in his ear, "Tony..." She almost sang.

"Hmmm?" Tony hummed, not opening his eyes.

"Tony, it's time to get up." She said, folding her arms.

Tony turned his head in the direction of Pepper, "What was that, angel?" Tony asked, a slight smile on his mouth.

Pepper pursed her lips, "Mr. Stark, you have a meeting today."

Tony opened his eyes and frowned at Pepper, "Why do you do that?"

"Do what, Mr. Stark?" Pepper asked, feigning innocence.

"That." Tony said.

"I still don't understand. Mr. Stark." She punctuated the end of her sentence with his name, or rather, his last name.

"Why do you call me Mr. Stark? I've asked you about a billion times to call me Tony. We've been friends forever, Pepper!" Tony hopped off the couch, throwing the blanket to the ground, revealing that he had no shirt on and was only clad in a nice pair of dark-wash jeans.

Pepper turned her head away to keep from blushing, looking down at her blackberry. "Actually we've been friends for almost 19 years, but who's counting?" She turned and picked up a pile of papers on his desk.

"Well, that's practically forever, Pep. And when's your birthday again? Are you turning 35? Well, let's see, my birthday was a couple of months ago...and you're only a couple months younger than me..." Tony calculated.

"Tony, I asked you to fill these out yesterday! You've only done one paper!" She shoved the pile into his arms, ignoring his last question.

"Honestly, I don't know why you're all that surprised, Pepper. I never do what you ask." Tony said. His eyes widened when he saw the glare shooting from Pepper's eyes in his direction.

"Well, I'm glad you actually realize that. Maybe you can do me a favor and fill those out before noon today." Pepper said.

Tony looked around the room, not seeing a clock. "Why don't I have a clock down here?" He asked himself.

Pepper just stood there and stared at him, "I'll get you one today. Then maybe you'll be able to pay attention to deadlines."

Tony smiled, "You're the best, Pepper."

"I know." She stated, turning on her heel and going back upstairs.

Tony shook his head, it never ceased to amaze him at how she had put up with him for these past five years. He had definitely given her a fair warning though.

Pepper had about a thousand things to do. Her list was never-ending. Deep down, even after so many years of trying to be professional, she still was falling head over heels for Tony. She honestly couldn't help it. At all. The man was incredibly handsome and ridiculously smart, she could go on for hours about Tony.

And he flirted with her constantly. Did he really take her seriously? She felt like, if she gave in, he'd only leave her for another woman that was playing hard to get. She didn't want that, so might as well leave it alone, right? She told herself this over and over again.

Pepper made her way up the stairs, grabbing her keys from the entryway table and opening the door. "Oh!" She yelled, startled.

"Hello Miss Potts." Hogan said politely.

"Oh, hi Happy. Sorry. I didn't expect to see you there." She smiled warmly.

"Are you going somewhere? I brought the limo around, I could take you where ever you need to go." He said.

"Oh no, it's fine. I need to run some errands, what I need you to do, is make sure that Tony gets to that meeting today at 12:30. It's almost 11:00 right now. Can you do that for me?" Her eyes got big and pleading.

Happy smiled and laughed, "Of course. I'll make sure he gets there. Drive safe." He added before closing the door behind her.

Although Happy was a complete jock in high school, he had turned out to be a real decent guy. When his career in basketball went downhill, Tony gave him a job as his personal driver. And he paid him very well, too. Happy was, well...happy, with how things were going.

Pepper made her way over to her car, opening the door and getting in. She felt fatigued, that was for sure. She had stayed up until three in the morning checking e-mails, forwarding them, deleting them, writing them. It was never-ending, just like her to-do list. "I'm going to get something done for good one of these days."' She said to herself, pulling out of the driveway.

About an hour later Tony still sat down stairs reading papers and signing his name at the bottom of them. "Oh man, I feel like this will take forever!" He moaned.

Happy strode into the room, "Sir, we need to leave. Your meeting starts in a half an hour." Tony nodded, for once, he was all right with leaving the mansion and going to a meeting, as long as it got him away from paper work.

Tony ran upstairs and put on a suit and tie, ran out the front door to the awaiting limo, and rode to Stark Industries. No doubt Obadiah would be there to haggle him on why he wasn't there the day before to accept the award.

* * *

Pepper stood in a Target store, wandering around the aisles, looking for some kind of bright, big digital clock to put on Tony's wall in the basement. Or at least, somewhere he could notice it easily. She weaved up and down the aisles, finally coming across someone in a red Target jacket.

"Oh thank heavens. Excuse me?" She asked politely.

He turned, "Yes, ma'am?"

"Can you show me where I can find a huge digital clock that I can put on a wall?" She said.

The man seemed a little surprised for a moment. "Uh...I'm not sure if we have any, but I'll take you to the clock aisle."

Pepper followed him down a few different aisles and finally came upon a pretty good sized clock. She took it to the check-out lane and bought it, heading back out to her car.

She drove down road after road, just going through the motions of getting back to the mansion. She didn't have time to react to the SUV turning left, crossing right through her lane of traffic. She didn't even have time to honk the horn.

* * *

Tony sat in his meeting, Obadiah was to his left, talking about missiles and some other stuff that Tony didn't want to listen to at the moment. He glanced down at his phone, seeing that he had one text message.

It was from Happy, he opened the text quickly.

"EMERGENCY," it read, "Pepper. Car accident. Hospital."

Tony's mouth dropped open. How long ago had Happy sent him the message? He checked the time. One minute. He let out a quick breath of relief.

He stood up abruptly from his chair.

"Sir?" Someone was asking him.

"Huh?" He asked, obviously showing that he hadn't been paying attention.

"What do you think about expanding to Europe? And where are you going?" One of the directors asked.

Tony's mouth still hung open, he looked to Obadiah for just a moment, "Well...I think it would be in good interest for the company, but I have to go!" He started to make his way toward the door, his heart pounding.

"Now wait just a minute, Tony. Why are you leaving?" Obadiah asked, he didn't want Tony to bail out on a meeting. Again.

Tony looked at him apologetically, "It's Pepper. She's in the hospital." He opened the door and rushed out, not waiting for Obadiah's response.

* * *

Ta da!! I hope you like this chapter. And the next, and the next...and the next. I really have no idea how many chapters there will be. But I hope you're enjoying it! I'm adding and subtracting things from the Iron Man movie story line, so hopefully it works out. I guess we'll just have to wait and see! Reviews would be awesome! No flames, please...


	9. Chapter 9

Okay...Next chapter! :D This is so exciting...LoL just kidding, I hope you like this next chapter!

* * *

Chapter Nine

Pepper slowly opened her eyes, blinding white lights made her eyes water. "Oh man...." She moaned.

"Hey Pepper, it's me. You'll be all right." She heard someone say. She focused harder, and she could slightly make out the faint outline of Tony.

"Tony?" She asked pathetically.

"Ya, I'm here. You're going to be okay." He repeated.

"What happened?" She asked.

"You got in a car accident, both you and the other person were injured, but not critically." Tony said softly, holding her hand.

Her eyes drooped, "Is anything broken?" She asked.

Tony laughed, "Only your car. You just got knocked unconscious. They said you'll be sore for days though."

Pepper took in a deep breath, "You know, I was looking for a clock for you. That's why I was out. I blame you." She tried to laugh, half joking.

Tony's smile faltered, "I know Pepper, and I'm sorry. When I got the news from Happy, I realized that you and I weren't on very good terms when you left."

Pepper started to say something, but Tony shushed her, "I really am sorry. I'll make it up to you. Take a few days off, and I'll get everything done." He smiled.

Pepper couldn't believe it. "What?" She said, rather loudly. "I'm sorry Tony, but I quite frankly don't believe you could do that." She said matter-of-factly.

"Well, I'll prove it to you." He said, smiling. "AND, as another part of the deal, though, I need you to stay at the mansion. I don't want you sneaking to your computer at your apartment and doing work." He said.

Pepper's mouth hung open, "You can't make me." She said, narrowing her eyes.

"Oh, I can. It's actually doctor's orders. They need someone to be watching you for the next couple of days so that you don't show any signs that your brain might be swelling." He stated.

"Maybe they just want me there so that I can watch YOUR brain for ego-swelling." Pepper said.

Tony made a puppy face. "Fine. Okay, I'll stay at the mansion." Pepper agreed.

Tony's eyes lit up with a smile.

* * *

They left the hospital hours later, Tony pushed her in the wheelchair, her hand covering her face.

"This is so embarrassing." She said quietly.

"Oh Pepper, you don't always have to be in control of everything." Tony chided. He opened the passenger door to the car (he had told Happy to go home and get the guest bedroom ready) and offered a hand to help her out of the wheel chair.

Pepper pushed his hand away, "I'm fine, I can do this." She got up from the chair and stepped forward, a little too quickly.

Pepper's vision went blurry and she started to fall forward. Tony stood right up against her and wrapped his arms around her. "So...you still want to try to do this yourself?" Tony asked, chuckling.

"Okay....just give me...a second." Pepper stood, her legs shaking slightly. Her head was up against Tony's shoulder, and he was hugging her tightly to him. She suddenly became aware of just how close she was to him, she could smell him and only him, she could feel his arms around her and how amazing it felt.

"Pepper? You ready to move?..." Tony asked.

Pepper's eyes widened, "Yes, uh, yes. I'm okay now." She stuttered.

Tony shuffled so that they were trading places, Pepper shifted herself so that she could easily get into the car. "Thanks, Tony..." She mumbled.

Tony smiled, placing his hand on the top of the door, "Anything for you Pepper."

She was expecting a little laugh right after he said that, but when she looked up to his face, all she could seen was certain concern, his eyes boring into hers.

"Thank you." She whispered, smiling slightly.

He nodded and closed her door. He went around to the driver's side and hopped in, starting the engine and driving straight for the mansion.

* * *

The next couple of days were decent, Pepper tried to sneak to a computer or find her blackberry a couple of times, but Jarvis would not tell her where her phone was, or the password change on Tony's computer. She had nothing to do but watch television. She hadn't watched TV in so long, she had no idea what kind of shows were played. She flipped it on and sat on the plush couch, rubbing the back of her neck. She had been pretty darn sore after all the medication wore off, but some things were starting to feel better. Tony had cooked her meals, let her sleep in, watch TV, practically anything except work. Her eyelids started to close slightly, watching TV put her to sleep faster than anything else would. She grabbed for her romance novel on the coffee table, but realized she had finished it yesterday.

Now what? Take a nap?

Yes, that would be perfect. She laid down on the couch, kicking off her slippers and grabbing a pillow. She didn't have the energy to get a blanket.

Tony was downstairs on the computer sorting through hundreds of e-mails containing boring nonsense. "How does Pepper sort through all of this stuff?" He asked himself.

He put half of it in the junk folder and kept going. About fifteen minutes later, he decided it was time for lunch and headed upstairs.

He stopped short when he noticed Pepper asleep on the couch, shivering slightly. In the summer, he always kept the air conditioning at a pretty low temperature. He swiftly made his way to the closest bedroom and grabbed a blanket.

Tony placed it gently over Pepper, watching her slowly stop shivering and snuggling into the blanket. She was too cute. Tony groaned inwardly. Why? Why had he chosen the one girl that seemed not to have any interest in him? He thought they had something when they were younger...

Tony took a deep breath and turned in the direction of the kitchen.

"Tony?" He heard a soft whisper, and turned around to see Pepper peeking out of the blanket. Oh man. She really was too cute.

"Thanks." She gave a small smile and cocooned herself in the blanket.

"Sure." Tony couldn't help but grin. If only.

* * *

Pepper woke later to the smell of something delicious. She sat up and looked around, almost startled to see Tony on the other couch, sipping away at some soup, while pointing toward a bowl left on the coffee table. Apparently it was for her.

"Wow, did you make this?" Pepper asked.

"Yes..." Tony said, smiling sheepishly, "It's actually one of my mom's recipes. I loved this when I was younger, especially when I was sick."

Pepper stared even harder, "You made this from scratch?" She said, completely perplexed.

"Yes...with the help of Jarvis. I guess I'll give him some credit." Tony said thoughtfully.

"Thank you sir." Jarvis piped up.

"Wow, I am very impressed, Tony." Pepper said, smiling.

"Thank you, I'm glad you feel that way about me." He gave her a knowing smile.

"Oh ha ha, you're so funny...Mr. Stark." Pepper said, giving him the same smile.

"You're not working! You're on a vacation! Well, sort of. Vacation from work, I guess. While you recover. No 'Mr. Stark' nonsense." He states.

Pepper just laughs, "All right, all right. You win." She pauses for a moment, "So, when do I get to go back to work?" She asks.

Tony thinks it over for a minute, "Well, how are you feeling? Honestly." He says.

"Well...I have a check up tomorrow, so I guess we could just see what the doctor says and go from there?" She says, hopeful that she can start working again.

"Ya, that'll do." Tony yawns, getting up from the couch, "Do you want me to go with you? Or are you just going to have Happy take you in the car?" He asks politely.

Pepper wasn't expecting that. "Uh....I don't know. I didn't think about it." She said.

"Because, you're definitely not driving yourself again for a bit. Sorry, Pep." He winked at her as he left the room.

"I guess I'll just have Happy take me." She called after him.

Tony was just a little disappointed that she didn't want him to come, but he understood. Maybe. "Okay, sounds good!" He called back, trying to sound upbeat, like it didn't really matter.

* * *

The next couple of weeks went by smoothly. Pepper was feeling better, her body taking its own course of healing. But now, she was stressed out, trying to plan Tony's trip to Afghanistan, and coordinating things with Rhodey.

"Please, Pepper. Try to get Tony there on time. Please." Was all Rhodey could ask her, over and over again.

"I will try my very hardest, Rhodey." Pepper said, slightly agitated.

Pepper sat down on one of Tony's nice couches, leaning back and taking a deep breath. Every night since she had found out that Tony was going back to Afghanistan was a living nightmare. The only thing that she thought of when the word "Afghanistan" was voiced was Gene Khan, and that horrible day so long ago. It felt like a lifetime ago.

She put a hand to her forehead, gently rubbing it, trying to work the images out of her brain. She had nonchalantly asked why Tony had to fly all the way to Afghanistan to test a missile, but he replied with, "Because we'd rather not test it here where we get a lot of publicity, and I have to go over weapons development and set up offers with the President in Afghanistan. He won't come here, he's just too stubborn. Don't tell anyone I said that."

And Pepper would nod her understanding, trying to keep from bursting into tears. She was so good at keeping her emotions in check, but when it came to reliving her fears, it just kept building up in her system, threatening to release.

Pepper looked at the calendar on her blackberry, and was almost shocked that it was so close to her birthday. "How did that creep up on me?" She asked herself.

"How did what creep up on you?" Pepper jumped at the voice behind her. Tony laughed, "Was it me that you were referring to?"

"Ha ha, Mr. Stark, very funny."

"Well, thought I'd try." He shrugged.

Pepper looked up from her calendar, "You have exactly two weeks before you leave. You think you're ready?" She asked.

"Yup! I'm ready to go get this thing done and over with." Tony looked down at the floor for a moment. "You know, you could always come, have fun with us kids and our toys that blow up!" He said, half joking.

"Tony, you know I'm not going." Pepper said softly. She still didn't think Tony knew the real reason.

"I know, Pepper. Just thought I'd try." Tony winked, "I didn't think you'd like the heat over there and all the politics of it."

Pepper almost laughed, oh how did he not know? "You're completely right, Mr. Stark." She tried a good smile, but seemed to fail.

"What's wrong?" Tony asked immediately.

"Nothing." Pepper said quickly.

Tony eyed her for a moment, "You're lying."

"No. No, I'm not..." Pepper said.

"Well, I won't pry it out of you, but if you ever want to talk about it-"

"I feel like everything will happen all over again!" Pepper cried out.

"What?" Tony asked, taken aback by Pepper's outburst.

Pepper stood from the couch, standing in front of Tony, "I can't help but think of everything that happened when we were in Afghanistan! When I was taken from New York, was forced to take that stupid ring! Was dragged through a Temple, was almost crushed!" She took a deep breath, tears stinging her eyes, "Seeing you battle, get hurt, the immense pain I felt, watching Gene get...get blown up!!" She was yelling now, flailing her hands around.

Tony hadn't seen her like this in years. This was the old Pepper coming out. He almost felt relieved by it, but...not in that she was so distressed about him leaving.

"Pepper, Pepper! Calm down." Tony grabbed her shoulders, backing her up toward the couch and almost forced her to sit down. "I'll be fine, nothing will happen to me. Things will be okay. I'm sorry. I'll never tease you about going there ever again, I had no idea that you were so weighed down by this."

He sat down next to her and wiped stray tears from her cheek, "When I get back, it'll be like I didn't even leave. You don't even have to think about me being there, you could pretend I'm in England!" Tony smiled, trying to help.

"It's not the same, Tony! You saw what happened in Afghanistan, you saw what happened to Gene. That place is not somewhere I want you to go! Or Rhodey, too!" She cried, "It's tearing me apart." She said quietly.

Tony squeezed her hand, "I'm sorry, Pep, but I really have to do this. I'll be fine, I'll come back. I promise."

Pepper leaned forward, her head hitting his shoulder. Tony wrapped his arms around her for the first time in so long. When he had hired Pepper, she had taken on a whole different persona, trying to be so professional. He had hardly seen her emotions at all for the past couple of years. And here they were, sitting on his couch, Pepper spilling out her emotions only two weeks before he had to leave. There wasn't much he could do about it now.

* * *

All righty! There it is :) Hope you liked it! No flames please...but Reviews would be loved.


	10. Chapter 10

Why hello! I hope you liked the last chapter. Here's the next one for you!

* * *

Chapter Ten

Two weeks later, Pepper entered the Stark mansion, butterflies in her stomach. Nervous, sick butterflies. Today was the day that Tony was going back to Afghanistan for the first time since Gene's death. And it was her birthday.

She slowly walked down the stairs to Tony's workshop, hearing his loud blaring music, and noticing his foot tapping to the beat. That brought back old memories of listening to loud music in the armory.

Before she hit the bottom of the stairs her cell phone rang, she answered it quickly, "Hello?" She asked, pausing on the stairs.

"Pepper, Tony better be leaving soon." Rhodey sounded on the other end.

"I know, I know. I told him to leave earlier." Pepper said.

"Well, obviously he didn't, because I'm still standing here. Waiting for him. In this blinding sun and ridiculous heat." Rhodey sounded very annoyed.

Pepper went down the rest of the steps while talking to Rhodey, pushing her code into the transparent screen on the side of the door, turning down his music at the same time.

"I'm going to try again, right now." She said patiently.

"Please don't turn down my music." Tony said while keeping his attention on the car.

"You're supposed to be half way around the world right now." Pepper said sternly.

Tony snorted, "Why are you trying to hustle me out of here? I thought you didn't want me to go in the first place."

"The sooner you leave, the sooner you come home." She said with a sigh. "And I need to speak with you about a couple of things before I get you out of here."

Tony noticed the clipboard she held. That never meant anything good. "Larry called, there's another Jackson Pollock in the wings, do you want it? Yes or no."

"Is it a good representation of his spring period?" Tony asked.

As much as people believe Tony is a genius, sometimes...things just come out of his mouth before he can control it. The question catches Pepper off guard for a moment, "Uh, no. The Springs was actually in East Hampton where he lived and worked, not "spring" like the season-"

"So?" Tony asked, looking up at Pepper, trying to cover the fact that he really hadn't been listening.

"I think it's a fair example..." She shrugged her shoulders, "I think it's incredibly overpriced."

Tony smiled, "I need it. Buy it. Store it." It was as if he did this all the time. What else do you do with billions of dollars? Plus, Tony had somewhat of a soft spot for art work, and so did Pepper. So he made it a point of being interested in art.

Pepper tried to hide a smile creeping onto her face, she went on to another subject, "Okay. The MIT commencement speech-"

"Is in June." Tony finished for her. She was a little surprised that he remembered. "Please don't harangue me about stuff that's way, way, down..."

"Well, they're haranguing me, so I'm going to say yes." Pepper put in swiftly.

"Deflect it and absorb it. Don't transmit it back to me." Tony said, they had many of these quick, witty comments and funny conversations almost everyday. Tony found them quite comical, even though he knew that sometimes, it annoyed Pepper to no end.

"I need you to sign this before I get you on the plane." Pepper said with some finality.

"What are you trying to get rid of me for? What, you have plans?" Tony asked, the corner of his mouth going up in a teasing smile.

"As a matter of fact, I do." Pepper said.

"I don't like it when you have plans." Tony pouted.

"I'm allowed to have plans on my birthday." Pepper said, taking a deep breath.

"It's your birthday?" Tony asked before he could stop himself.

"Yes." Pepper didn't meet his eyes.

"I knew that. Already?" Tony asked, trying to make light conversation over his second mess up of the day.

"Yeah, isn't that strange? It's the same day as last year..." Pepper said, giving him an overly-sweet smile.

"Get yourself something nice from me." Tony said, smiling, a smile she knew too well. A real smile, one that Tony would give only to her.

"I already did." Pepper gave him a kind smile this time.

"And?" He asked.

"Oh, it was very nice." Pepper nodded her head.

"Yeah?" Tony asked, obviously wanting details.

"Very tasteful. Thank you, Mr. Stark." Pepper said, calling him by his last name, but this time, it's more meaningful, respectful.

"You're welcome, Miss Potts." Tony grinned, so tempted to kiss that smiling mouth of hers, but turned around and started walking to his car. Avoid the temptation, it would only ruin things for him even more.

Tony arrived at the tarmac, looking up to see Rhodey standing at the entrance to the plane. "What's wrong with you?" Rhodey called.

"What?" Tony asked innocently.

"Three hours. For three hours you got me standing here." Rhodey said, simmering with anger.

"Waiting on you now!" Tony said, patting his back as he passed him, entering the plane.

* * *

Arash sat in the passenger seat of a car they were driving through the desert, he needed to oversee the shipment of new weapons from their insider at Stark Industries. He could hear his satellite phone ringing in his pocket. He pulled it out and answered, "Hello?"

"Hello, Arash." The deep voice said. He knew immediately who it was. Their insider from Stark Industries.

The man continued, "Your target will arrive at the previously mentioned location within eight hours. Be ready, he'll be giving the weapon's presentation." He hung up quickly.

Arash was extremely curious to know who it was that their contact wanted to get rid of so quickly, but obviously, he wasn't going to call back and demand to know who he was supposed to knock off. He didn't want to spoil his goods coming from Stark Industries, so there was no point in risking it.

He radioed the leaders under him and told them their positions and when to be ready for the attack. He positioned some of his people above where they were rumored to be testing a new missile. He wanted pictures of this new weapon.

* * *

Tony and Rhodey finally arrived in Afghanistan. They stepped off their plane and said hello. The plane ride had gone well, with only a few silly arguments that Rhodey brought up, but Tony was able to deflect them all. Sort of. Rhodey still held a grudge.

"Welcome, Mr. Stark. We look forward to your weapons presentation." The General said, shaking Tony's hand.

"Thank you." Tony said politely.

They headed for the place they were going to give the presentation, taking a long drive out into the desert. Tony squinted out into the bright noon day that lay across the sand covered terrace. He recognized it. He could just make out the outline of the mountain range, where he knew a huge crater still lay. Gene. It had been so long, too long. He had forgotten the importance of the deadly force that Gene had discovered. He had forgotten that just because the Ten Rings were gone and destroyed, something else that was powerful would just take its' place. He was reminding himself of this when one of the guards tapped him on the shoulder to let him know they had arrived.

"Is it better to be feared or respected?" Tony asked the little crowd of people before him. "I say, is it too much to ask for both? With that in mind, I humbly present the crown jewel of Stark Industries' Freedom Line. It's the first missile system to incorporate our proprietary repulsor technology." He paused, "Find an excuse to let one of these off the chain, and I personally guarantee you the bad guys won't even want to come out of their caves."

Rhodey watched as they prepared the missile, selecting a target, and sending one of the giant destructive explosives straight toward the mountain range. "I guess we'll just add another crater to the desert terrain." Rhodey whispered under his breath, thinking of Gene and the ordeal they had been through several years ago.

The missile whistled through the air, letting out hundreds of tiny missiles at the same time, sending them all into the mountainside.

"For your consideration, the Jericho." Tony said, throwing his arms out as a huge aftershock wave of sand and dust blew in from behind him. He stepped forward to balance himself, then headed straight back for the hummers.

'The sooner you leave, the sooner you come home.' He recalled Pepper's words and felt an urgency to get back. Back home. Back to Pepper.

"To peace!" He called behind him and got into the hummer.

Rhodey came up at the window, "This is the 'fun-vee', the 'humdrum-vee' is back there." Tony said, laughing. Rhodey gave a reluctant smile, "Hey Tony, nice job."

Tony nodded, "See you back at base."

* * *

Arash whispered into the radio, "Who was the man giving the presentation?" He listened for a minute before receiving a quick, soft answer.

"Tony Stark."

* * *

The hummer was filled with Tony's jokes and the laughs of the soldiers that were accompanying him.

"Is it cool if I take a picture with you?" The soldier next to Tony asked.

"Yes. It's very cool." Tony said, smiling. "I don't want to see this on your MySpace page." He jokes.

The guard threw up a peace sign, "Please, no gang signs." Tony started laughing immediately after, even though the guard thought he had been serious. "No, throw it up, I'm kidding!"

They waited for a flash from the camera, but it never came. "Come on. Hurry up! Just click it, don't change any of the settings-" Just as he had finished his sentence, a giant explosion lit up right in front of them, pieces of the hummer they had been following hit their car.

Tony was completely caught off guard, and he hadn't even thought to bring his suit. Why? Because a few weeks before Pepper had begged him to take a break from it, and...well, people would notice, and realize he was Iron Man, and he wasn't ready for the world to know that piece of information quite yet. Even though he couldn't bring his suit, Pepper had demanded that he wear a bullet proof vest.

"What's going on?" Tony called.

"Contact left!" A woman soldier yelled as she got out of the hummer, she had barely gotten two feet before bullets rained through her body. Tony felt completely helpless. This was not supposed to happen.

"Jimmy, stay with Stark!" One of the other guards yelled as he got out of the hummer as well. He was also gunned down within moments.

The remaining soldier turned to him, "Stay down!" He yelled and cocked his gun, kicked open the door and barely got out before bullets went through the entire vehicle, narrowly missing Tony.

He had to get out of here, he thought for sure that at any moment the hummer he was in would explode, and he would go up in a ball of flames along with the car.

He pushed open the door and stumbled out, dust was flying everywhere and he could hear the gunfire all around him. He jumped behind a rock and pulled out his phone (AN: I totally own that phone!) trying to call anyone he could that would help. In the middle of dialing a number, he heard a thud about five yards to his right. He looked up quickly, startled by the name carefully printed across the side of a missile imbedded in the ground. It read 'Stark Industries'.

Before he could really survey what was before him, he knew he had to get out of the way, or he would no longer exist.

Tony jumped up, heading for anywhere except where he was just sitting. Before he could make it past fifteen feet, he was blown through the air and hit the ground solidly.

He laid there for just a minute before starting to register the pain, he pulled his head up off the ground and started to pull open his shirt to assess the damage, he could barely see the blood starting to seep through some of the kevlar bulletproof vest. The last thing he thought of as he started to seep into unconsciousness was, 'Thank you, Pepper.' and his mind drifted off. His arc reactor hummed quietly, the glow covered by the kevlar vest.

* * *

Pepper's day was going well so far. She made a call to her dad and talked about a good time to visit mom's gravesite. He wished her a happy birthday, and then dropped a bomb.

"Pepper...I know it's your birthday, and I hate to tell you today, but the cancer I had five years ago has come out of remission." He said sadly. Colon cancer, one of the number one killers.

Pepper closed her eyes, letting the news rush over her. "Dad, when did you see the doctor?" She asked.

"Well, I was having some pain so I went in, and he said its come back." He paused, "Pepper, there's no chance I'm going to survive this."

"How long do you have?" She choked out.

"Months." He said, Pepper could hear the sadness in his voice. "But I'll see your mother again and tell her hello for you."

She could imagine the smile he was wearing on his face over the phone. "Thanks dad." Pepper couldn't help but start to sob. She tried hard to stifle it, so that he couldn't hear her pain.

"Pepper, I know you're sad, please try not to be." He sighed, "The only thing keeping me going is you and the thought of possibly seeing your mother again. It'll be okay."

Pepper nodded, tears running down her cheeks. Then she realized he couldn't see her, "Right, yes, I know." She found herself saying.

They talked about some other things for awhile, helping them both to lighten up a bit, even though it still wasn't the same. Pepper and her father finally hung up. She was so reluctant to hang up, like once she did, she would never hear from him again.

The only thing she could think of was her dad. She could remember the first time he had called, only months after she had taken the job with Tony, and told her the bad news that he had colon cancer. But at least he had caught it soon, right?

"I guess it didn't really matter..." Pepper said to herself. This was just too much to handle. Tony going to Afghanistan, her dad getting cancer again. Things seemed to be falling apart. At least Tony would be home by tomorrow morning, he would know how to make her feel better.

She went through the day, doing work, but allowing herself to get off early and start another romance novel.

"This is pathetic." She said quietly. She found herself wishing that Tony was home, that they could celebrate her birthday together. She had told him earlier this morning that she had plans...yeah right. She chuckled to herself, shaking her head. This was a boring birthday. But it wasn't like it was a big deal, she was turning 35, it wasn't like the big 40 or 50. Just another birthday...

Pepper told herself these things over and over that day until later that night when she decided to turn on the TV. She still sat at the mansion, not wanting to leave quite yet. Something held her there, she wasn't quite sure what it was.

* * *

Pepper heard the constant ringing of a phone penetrate her dreams.

"What time is it?" She asked to no one in particular.

"It is one o'clock in the morning, Miss Potts." Jarvis's voice sounded.

Pepper was completely startled, she had forgotten that she was still at the mansion, asleep on the couch.

Suddenly, the mansion's phone rang again. She let out a sigh, and picked up the nearest phone. The caller I.D. said that it was Rhodey.

"That's odd..." She said quietly. She pressed Call, answering it.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Pepper!" Rhodey said, relieved, "I called your cell and the mansion a few times, but you didn't answer." He said quickly.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't have it on me-"

"Pepper, Tony's missing." Rhodey cut her off.

Pepper didn't say anything for a few seconds, "What?" She asked hoarsely, her heart seemed to stop.

"There was an attack, we can't find him..." Rhodey said sadly.

Pepper's mouth fell open, "No! No, he's there. He has to be!" Pepper yelled in disbelief, shooting up from the couch and pacing the room.

"Pepper, we searched for hours after it was clear. There was no sign of him." Rhodey choked.

"No! Go back out there right now! Look for him! He's there! You just didn't look hard enough. You didn't see him!" She was almost screaming into the phone, she was choking out words, falling to the floor beside the couch. "You have to find him..." She sobbed.

"Pepper, I'm so sorry. We won't stop looking for him. I promise." He said, she could almost see the tears running down Rhodey's face, but trying to act strong for her. Thousands of miles away. She had no one but Jarvis to comfort her.

"Please, you have to find him, Rhodey." She sobbed.

"I will, Pepper. I will." He said softly. They said their goodbyes and hung up.

Pepper laid down on the floor and cried. She could hear his words penetrate her mind from only a few weeks ago. 'I'll be fine, I'll come back. I promise.'

'I promise. I promise. I promise.' His words echoed over and over again in her mind.

"He promised..." She cried, digging her fist into the carpet. "Why? Why?" She laid there for what seemed like an eternity. She got up after two hours and called her dad. It was now three in the morning, in New York it would be almost six in the morning. Hopefully he would answer.

They talked for awhile, her father trying to help Pepper get through her initial shock, and cope with the possibility that he may not be back.

"He'll be back, dad." Pepper said quietly.

"I know Pepper." He said, just as quietly. "Just go about as you normally would, and try to keep things in order until he gets back. He's counting on you to keep things in check." She knew her father was humoring her, but it felt good to know that he knew that she needed to hear that Tony would come back.

After hanging up with her father, she went out to the back balcony and stood, looking over the water. "Tony...where are you?"

* * *

Wah wah. What a horrible birthday for Pepper! :'( I hope you liked (or maybe in this case...hated it...poor Pepper!) this chapter! Review please and thank you!


	11. Chapter 11

I have NO clue how many chapters are left to go. But...here's another one! :)

* * *

Chapter Eleven

Tony's eyes snapped open. He was somewhere dark with small lights coming through tiny holes everywhere, and he could hear talking all around him. He finally focused his eyes on what was immediately in front of him. His head was in a woven bag. 'Great.' He thought sarcastically.

He could feel that his hands and legs were bound to what he was sitting on, apparently a chair. He could feel someone tugging on the bag down by his neck, and the next moment, his eyes were plagued with an extremely bright light. He squinted and looked around in a daze. Tony could just make out a video camera in front of him. He glanced to his left and right, finding men in disguises and pointing very large guns at him.

Realization hit him and his eyes widened. They were holding him ransom and sending this video back to Stark Industries. Obadiah would get it and find him for sure! Pepper would see it and-Pepper would see it.

'Oh man...I don't want Pepper to see this.' He thought miserably. He turned his eyes heavenward, giving a silent plea that someone from Stark Industries would receive this and pay the ransom.

The red light on the video camera turned off, signaling that they were done. Someone next to him shifted toward him and shoved a cloth with some kind of chemical on it right over his mouth and nose. He tried to hold his breath, and not breathe in whatever it was, but his sight grew fuzzy and he started to lose consciousness very quickly.

Tony woke up hours later, the first thing he could see was a bumpy, rocky looking ceiling. He turned over on his left side and felt something tug.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He heard a voice say. He turned back over and looked to his right. He could see some kind of box thing with a couple cords coming out of it. He grabbed one of the cords and followed it to where it led.

"When was the last time you charged that thing?" The man asked.

Tony was still staring at the box. "What the hell did you do to me?" He asked, his anger rising.

The man stopped shaving his face and flicked off the cream. "What I did? What I did was to save your life." He said.

He paused, turning toward Stark and making eye contact with him. "Your heart was failing you. Apparently that reactor in your chest wasn't doing its job."

Tony was puzzled. How did he know it was an arc reactor? He finally took a long look at the man standing over him. He recognized him from somewhere. But before he could say anything, there was pounding on the door.

"Stand up." He hissed, grabbing Tony's arm and pulling him upward. "Just do as I do." He looked at Tony, "Come on, put your hands up."

They both put their arms over their heads and the man next to him remained quiet as they entered the room.

The minute they entered, Tony remembered the missile that had landed only yards away from him back out on the road, and how it had said, "Stark Industries" on it. He squinted through the bad lighting and darkness at the guns they were holding.

"Those are my guns. How did they get my guns?" Tony asked blatantly.

"Do you understand me? Do as I do." The man next to him hissed again.

The men with guns stopped a few feet in front of them and started talking. Tony couldn't even understand what they were saying. He looked to the guy next to him in confusion.

"He says, 'Welcome, Tony Stark, the most famous mass murderer, in the history of America.' He is honored...he wants you to build the missile." The head guard handed the man next to Tony a picture. "The Jericho missile that you demonstrated."

Tony's mind was reeling. Where were they when he demonstrated this? Were they watching them the whole time? How did they know where they were demonstrating? Questions were buzzing through his head.

"I refuse." Was all Tony could say. No, of course he wasn't going to build that missile for them. They would destroy the entire United States of America.

The second he uttered his answer, the group of men grabbed him and dragged him away. The box that was connected to his arc reactor snapped off. He could feel a tug right above his heart, and then things seemed to slow down. He could no longer carry himself, he could barely use his own arms.

They hauled him over to a basin of water. His eyes widened, they were going to torture him until he said yes.

They shoved his face down in the water, and then when he thought he could no longer hold his breath, they pulled him out. They yelled something at him, something that seemed to end in a question. He knew what they were asking.

"No." He said. They forced him back down into the water and this time, more of his body went into the basin. Water lapped up against the arc reactor embedded in his chest. Normally, it wouldn't have effected him, since it was waterproof, but because the wires powering it had snapped off, it revealed two exposed circuits.

A spark went through the water, electrifying the basin. Tony could feel all the breath whoosh right out of him, then unintentionally sucked up water. He was going to die. He was going to drown in this stupid basin of water. "Tony!" He heard a voice. It sounded like Pepper. Was she in trouble? Was she here? Did he die and she was with him?

He woke up only moments later. They were yelling at him again. They yanked him off the ground and put some sort of bag over his head, leading him somewhere. As they walked, Tony counted their steps and kept track of the directions they took.

They ripped the woven bag off of his head and blinding light assaulted his eyes. He stumbled forward for a moment before his eyes finally adjusted. He looked around him, seeing the man that was with him in the cave near him. He saw all the crates of weapons and supplies, the men walking about, then he looked out over a wide valley. A crater. A very large crater, slowly being filled with windblown sand. An image of Gene flashed through his mind.

The man he was imprisoned with tapped his shoulder, "He wants to know what you think."

Tony took a deep breath, "I think you got a lot of my weapons." He said, trying to keep his anger down.

"He says they have everything you need to build the Jericho missile." The man next to him translated. "He wants you to make the list of materials. He says for you to start working immediately." He paused, "And when you're done, he will set you free."

The head guard stuck his hand out to shake with Tony's, "No he won't." Tony said with a smile one his face. There was no way that Tony would make it out of here alive if he just gave them what they wanted.

"No he won't." His fellow prisoner repeated, also smiling.

* * *

Tony sat in the dank, dark dungeon of the cave. He had re-plugged the car battery into the arc reactor, which was now only working on half capacity, since it had been zapped in the water basin. This was going to be difficult.

"What's your name, anyway?" Tony asked.

"Yinsen." He replied.

"Thanks for keeping me alive." He said quietly, motioning toward the car battery.

"I'm sure they're looking for you, Stark. But they will never find you in these mountains."

A silence passed between them for a few moments before Yinsen looked back up at him, "Look, what you just saw, that is your legacy, Stark. Your life's work, in the hands of those...murderers! Is that how you want to go out? Is this the last act of defiance of the great Tony Stark? Or are you going to do something about it?"

"Why should I do anything? They're going to kill me, you, either way." Tony was feeling horribly depressed with all the events of the day piling up on him. "And if they don't, I'll probably be dead in a week." Tony tapped his arc reactor. It was barely lit, and the energy capacity was slowly depleting, even with the car battery.

"Well then, this is a very important week for you, isn't it?" Yinsen said with a small smile on his face.

Maybe Tony and his new friend could make it out of this after all.

After telling the guards and other 'terrorists' what he needed to make the Jericho missile, he and Yinsen sat down for a break.

"How many languages do you speak?" Tony asked.

"A lot." He responded, "But apparently, not enough for this place. They speak Arabic, Urdu, Dari, Pashto, Mongolian, Farsi, Russian..."

"Who are these people?" Tony asked incredulously.

"They....are your loyal customers, sir." Yinsen said with a tight smile.

Tony squeezed his eyes shut, who would be providing them with his weapons?

"They call themselves the Ten Rings." Yinsen said, just throwing that piece of information in sent Tony reeling.

"Excuse me?" Tony almost yelled.

Yinsen was genuinely surprised. "I said, they call themselves the Ten Rings..." He repeated, thinking Tony had misheard him.

"Are you sure?" Tony asked, his eyes wide.

"Yes, I am quite positive." Yinsen said with a nod.

"Why? Do you know why?"

Yinsen thought for a moment, "Well...I've heard bits and pieces of a silly legend of some kind, Ten Rings of power...apparently they claim they existed, but when they were all put together, the wearer, their leader, was killed by the intense power..." He trailed off, wearing a small smile on his face. "I'm not so sure I believe it. They claim it was at least ten years ago that this happened."

Tony put his face in his hands. He could not believe how ironic this was. "The Rings were real..." Tony whispered.

Yinsen's eyebrows went up in a high arc, creating wrinkles and lines on his forehead. "And you know that...how?" He asked skeptically.

"Because I was there when it happened." Tony said, feeling the pain of regret and remorse filling him.

Yinsen had no idea what to say, "You were there? What happened?" He was clearly surprised and extremely curious.

Tony proceeded to tell him his story, starting when he was sixteen.

* * *

Pepper had slept from seven in the morning until two in the afternoon. She awoke abruptly. "Tony!" She yelled, looking around.

No Tony.

Tears started to form in her eyes. No Tony. That meant that what she thought was a horrifying dream, was actually reality.

The tears spilled over as she laid back down on the couch that she had fallen asleep on and cried.

This was Pepper's routine for quite awhile, she would wake up in the morning and call Tony's name, but no answer. She would cry, get off the couch, eat something small, turn on the TV, take a nap, eat something little again, and go to bed.

Her bed was the couch. She ate eggs for breakfast and a mish-mash of something for dinner, skipping lunch. She only stayed in either the living room, or the kitchen. Never anywhere else. She didn't have the courage to venture the places Tony spent most of his time in the house just yet.

Today, after eating her small breakfast and washing off her dishes, she sat down on the couch and turned on the TV.

"It has been almost two months since Tony Stark went missing. There is little hope that he will be found. Alive or not." Pepper clenched her jaw, trying to keep the information from really getting to her. She knew she was just torturing herself by listening to the News everyday. She knew she would be the first to hear the news regarding anything Tony from Rhodes.

The words rang through her mind. 'Almost two months since Tony Stark went missing...'

She hadn't even heard from Stane yet. "I wonder if he's happy..." She said, largely joking. "Now he's in charge." She rolled her eyes. She would be high-tailing it back to New York if Obadiah were back in charge. There was something about him that she didn't want anything to do with.

She got up from the couch and actually decided to take a shower there at the mansion. Pepper headed to the guest room where a lot of her clothes still were from when she had gotten in the car wreck and stayed there with Tony. She sifted through the drawer and was surprised to see those old sweats. She had borrowed Tony's sweats all those years ago after they had come back from Afghanistan. After Gene had died...

She pulled them out with some undergarments and headed for the bathroom, stepping into the warm shower.

After she was finished, she towel dried her hair and went back to the living room for a nap, continuing her routine.

She stepped into the living room, "Hello Pepper." A low voice sounded. Pepper was so surprised she jumped and yelped.

"Oh! Obadiah. Hi, I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in. I was...in the shower." Pepper said, pointing to the hallway behind her.

"You're still here?" Obadiah asked. "I thought you would have been back at your apartment." He said, warily.

"Oh, I couldn't leave...I've been here for the two months. I go home every now and then to get clothes and some other things, but for the most part, I stay here." She folded her arms and headed for the couch.

Obadiah stood with two fingers, rubbing his chin. "I see..." He headed for the couch and sat down near Pepper. "I am very sorry that this has happened. I've always seen Tony as kind of...invincible. Like nothing could ever harm him. But I guess he's just as human as the rest of us..." He pondered.

Pepper nodded, "Yes...I guess so." She didn't really feel like talking about this at the moment, and especially not with Obadiah.

"Maybe the Colonel will find him. Don't worry too much, Pepper." Obadiah said, taking in the sight of Pepper.

She felt weird under Obadiah's gaze. Her mind flashed back to the day they graduated so long ago when she felt Gene's eyes on her as he circled around her. She felt that same feeling as Obadiah seemed to be sizing her up.

"Have you lost some weight?" He asked.

What an odd question. "Um...I guess. I'm not sure. I haven't been able to eat very much since Tony disappeared."

"Ah, I see. Well, take care of yourself, Pepper." Obadiah placed a hand on her shoulder, rubbing it gently. Pepper felt a shiver move down her spine.

"I'll try." She forced a smile.

Obadiah got up off of the couch and headed for the door, "You know Pepper," he said as he turned to look at her, "he may not come back. I would assume he doesn't." There was absolutely no emotion on his face as he said that.

Pepper's mouth fell open and her eyebrows knitted together. Shock was the only word to describe it. Obadiah turned back around, opened the door, and left the house.

How could someone just not care? Tears began to form in her eyes. She was still staring at the door, where Obadiah had been standing. Something was wrong about him, but before she could think anymore of it, the phone rang. She picked it up and answered, it was Rhodey again. No news of Tony.

* * *

Tony stood, hunched over a table in the corner of the cave. He had to get out of here. They had brought in everything he would need to build the Jericho missile, but he had also requested a few other things that they had no clue about. His intention was not to build the missile, but to build the best Iron Man suit he could out of what he was given.

He used some tracing paper to sketch out his primitive Iron Man suit. This would definitely not be like the suit back at home, that was for sure.

"Home..." He whispered, putting a hand to his forehead. "Pepper." He squeezed his eyes shut. He wondered if she had seen the ransom video, or if they were keeping it from her. Someone had to know he was still alive. Someone.

He spaced out the different sections of his designs on different papers so that no one could see exactly what it was unless you laid them out on top of each other and flattened them out under the light.

He had been in this cave for almost two months, creating random pieces that looked like they went to the Jericho missile, and other pieces that really went with his design. He was trying to make them believe that he was doing what they wanted.

Yinsen made his way over to Tony. "Our lunch is ready."

"This is our ticket out of here." Tony said very quietly.

Yinsen peered over his shoulder, moving around him toward the desk. "What is it?" He asked.

"Flatten them out and look." Yinsen did so and was surprised to see the primitive version of the Iron Man armor.

"Oh wow. Impressive." He nodded his head, "Aspiring to be like the real Iron Man?" Yinsen laughed.

Tony chuckled and stared at Yinsen intensely for a moment, "You're looking at him."

Yinsen's mouth hung open. "Of course....I should have seen this long before. You're the only one really capable of creating the real Iron Man armor. Well, this all makes sense now then!" He laughed to himself.

Tony and Yinsen worked diligently on the bigger pieces of the 'primitive' suit during the dead of night, so that there was less chance that someone was watching them and the weird pieces of metal that obviously did not match up with the Jericho missile plans.

* * *

Another entire month went by, Tony was completely surprised that his arc reactor was still working. The car battery was going a long way, though, he wouldn't survive long without it. His mind flashed back to when he was on the plane with his dad, on that ill-fated day so many years ago. He had been in a small storage room in the back of the jet plane where he kept the Iron Man armor, he was about to take it out to show his dad, but unbeknownst to him, Gene had shown up and completely destroyed the plane, taking Tony's father with him. The shrapnel in Tony's body from the plane explosion was slowly making its way toward his heart, he would have been dead in a week if his own "smart-computer" had not been able to perform surgery, construct, and implant the device that now kept Tony alive.

Tony snapped out of it and found that he had unconsciously been rubbing the skin around the arc reactor on his chest. He groaned inwardly as his thoughts went back to Pepper. Where was she? What was she thinking about? Did she know that he was alive? He shook his head and rested his elbows on the table he was working at, covering his face in his hands.

* * *

Arash stood behind his men, peering over their shoulders at the TV's. They were watching Stark and Yinsen work diligently, trying to make out the different shapes of steel that Tony was creating.

"That doesn't look like the Jericho missile..." One said in a different language.

Another looked at him and back at a photo he was holding. "We're just looking at it backwards. Turn the photo around."

Arash squinted at the screens. He didn't like what was going on. After watching them for almost three months and not seeing the general form of the Jericho missile, something was definitely off.

* * *

Well...there's another one down! I hope you're still liking the story. Reviews would be greatly appreciated!


	12. Chapter 12

I have run out of things to say...enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Twelve

Tony and Yinsen had taken a break from their hard work, trying to keep the pieces strewn about so that no one watching them could possibly put together in their mind what they were trying to accomplish. It was impossible to believe that they had been here for almost three months. It felt like so much longer than that.

They were playing a game of dice on a small table. "You know...we met once. At a technical conference in Bern." Yinsen said quietly.

So that's where Tony had seen him. "I think I remember that. Some of it, at least."

Yinsen smiled, "Yes, you seemed quite distracted. There was a very beautiful woman with strawberry hair sitting next to you." He smiled, "Is that your girlfriend? Wife?" He asked innocently.

Tony smiled too, 'I wish.' He thought. "Uh no...we've been friends for a long, long time..." He said, reminiscing.

Tony lifted his head and looked at Yinsen, "You still haven't told me where you're from."

"I'm from a small town called Gulmira. It's actually a nice place." He responded.

Tony nodded, "Got a family?"

Yinsen smiled slightly, "Yes, and I will see them when I leave here." He paused from the game and looked up at Tony. "And you, Stark?"

Tony pressed his lips together in a fine line, thinking. He could say Jarvis. Ha! Ya right. Pepper...

"No." He said quietly, shaking his head.

"No?" Yinsen sighed, "So you're a man who has everything...and nothing." His eyebrows raised as he looked back at Tony.

Tony didn't have the chance to respond. They heard a loud voice, signaling the approach of someone to visit them.

The doors were pushed open and in came a rather large group of men.

Arash walked through to the front of the group, "Relax." He said in english. Tony and Yinsen lowered their arms from above their heads.

Arash walked around their workshop, inspecting different tools. "The bow and arrow once was the pinnacle of weapons technology." He paused as he picked up Tony's sketches.

Tony's eyes grew wide and he felt as though his heart was about to stop. If he just flattened them out, or looked closer, he would know the secret to their escape. He looked to Yinsen frantically, but he saw him raise his hand slightly from his side and just barely shook his head, signaling him not to do anything.

Finally, Arash set the pages down, "It allowed the great Genghis Khan to rule from the Pacific to the Ukraine. An empire twice the size of Alexander the Great, and four times the size of the Roman Empire."

Tony felt like he was getting a history lesson.

"And Gene Kahn. A man with the power to rule the entire earth, but the Rings destroyed him...We call ourselves the Ten Rings in his honor." He paused, "And today, whoever holds the latest Stark weapons rules these lands. And soon, it will be my turn."

As he talked, he picked up some tongs and stuck them into the furnace. He motioned to his men to grab Yinsen.

Tony barely registered what was happening before it was too late. They were speaking in a different language, and had Yinsen's head on a cement slab.

"What does he want?" Tony yelled, "What do you want? A delivery date?" He asked, stepping forward toward Arash, who was demanding Yinsen to open his mouth. The men all shouted at him and cocked their guns, pointing them at him.

Tony raised his hands, "I need him." He paused, trying to think of a good reason to them. "Good assistant." He spit out.

The small ball of molten rock was dropped to the cement slab, and Arash threw the pair of tongs to the floor.

"You have till tomorrow to assemble my missile." He stated as he left, his men followed behind him.

Tony took a deep breath and let out a long sigh.

They worked through the night, perfecting their plans and doing their best to get everything done. Tony could not shut off his mind. That little history lesson was being repeated in his mind. Genghis Khan = Gene Kahn. If the rings of power hadn't killed him, he would have had the biggest empire of any of the previous rulers.

Not sure if he really would have liked that...

Tony hammered away on the face piece. Sticking it into the molten flames, hammering it into shape, and then sticking it into the water, getting rid of the impurities within the metal, making it stronger.

After hammering away for almost an hour, he placed it on Yinsen's table. They only had hours until morning arrived.

"We have about four hours." Yinsen said as he inspected the face plate.

Tony nodded and kept working.

An hour and a half later, they had set up a steel platform for Tony to get into the suit without it collapsing on him.

"Okay, can you move?" Yinsen asked. Tony tested his wrists and knees, elbows and neck.

"Okay, say it again."

Tony rambled off what he remembered when they had dragged him from the caves after his 'near-drowning' experience and recited it, "41 steps straight ahead. Then 16 steps, that's from the door, fork right, 33 steps, turn right."

Just as he was about to start going over the plans with Yinsen again, they heard yelling at the door. They were here too early!

"Yinsen! Yinsen! Stark!" They yelled.

"Say something. Say something back to him." Tony hissed.

"He's speaking Hungarian! I don't..."

"Then speak Hungarian!" Tony said, completely impatient.

"Okay. I know..." Yinsen said, wracking his brain to form a sentence in that language.

He tried calling something out in Hungarian, but it failed to keep them at bay. They opened the door, and a huge blinding flash and a loud bang sounded as their trap exploded, leaving the men on the other side of the door either dead, in shock, or unconscious.

"How'd that work?" Tony asked, he couldn't see what the situation was.

"Oh, oh my goodness. It worked all right." Yinsen said, looking out at the few bodies on the ground. "Let me finish this." He was starting to panic. Surely they had seen what had happened on their security cameras. They would be coming any minute now.

"Initialize the power sequence." Tony stated.

"Okay."

"Now!" Tony was also getting panicked. "Tell me. Tell me." He said as he watched Yinsen type at the computer. "Function 11. Tell me when you see a progress bar." There was a pause as Yinsen typed. "It should be up right now."

"Yes." Yinsen stated back.

They threw comments back and forth, Tony telling him what to do, while Yinsen executed the stages of the plan.

"Come over here and button me up." Tony said hastily.

"They're coming!" Yinsen said, a sheen of sweat appearing on his brow.

"Nothing pretty, just get it done." Tony stated. "Just get it done..." Tony repeated. He could see Yinsen thinking something. Something Tony might not agree with... "Make sure the checkpoints are clear before you follow me out, okay?" Tony said, breaking Yinsen's focused thinking.

"We need more time." Apparently it didn't work. Yinsen's mind was cooking a different plan that Tony was not aware of, and would not like.

"Hey..." Tony said cautiously.

"I'm gonna go buy you some time!" Yinsen yelled as he ran out of the cave with a large gun.

"Stick to the plan!" Tony yelled. "Stick to the plan!" He was getting frantic. "YINSEN!" He yelled as loud as he could. It was no use though, he had run off and left Tony there to wait for that progress bar to load on the computer screen.

* * *

(Half a month earlier at the Stark Mansion)

Pepper was literally counting the days. Rhodey called her every week to let her know that he wouldn't stop looking. Assuring her, that they would find him.

Pepper kept up her usual routine, when it had reached just after two months, she came to the point where she could hide her emotions so well, that people seemed to think she was cold hearted. That she hadn't really cared for Tony, and only wanted his position in the company. She despised them. They had no clue what she went through each and every day.

When the mark on the calendar noted two and a half months, Pepper finally wandered further away from the living room and kitchen area. Today, she stood right outside Tony's bedroom door.

She took a deep breath and reached for the door handle. She twisted it and pushed it open.

She stared into the dark room, reaching around the door frame and pushing the button for the lights. She walked in as the room illuminated. The bed was unmade and there was one shirt and tie on the floor. She stood only feet away from the doorway, terrified to move any further. She felt like she was intruding on something private.

She took a deep breath and moved forward, her bare feet padding on the soft carpet floor. She peered into the bathroom and looked around. His shaving cream was left uncapped, along with his toothpaste, and his toothbrush was nowhere to be found.

Pepper could barely contain the sadness that seemed to well up inside her. Where was her Tony?

She stepped backwards without thinking and stepped on his shirt. She let out a gasp as her foot touched the soft, colder fabric. She turned and stared down at it.

It was a light blue button-up shirt. She leaned over and picked it up, feeling the fabric and bringing it up to her nose to smell it. It smelled completely of Tony. She closed her eyes and could almost pretend that she was hugging her long lost friend. No, more than a friend.

Well, to her, anyways. She wasn't sure how Tony really felt about her. Now that he was gone, she was forced to realize her true feelings for her boss. She loved him, wholeheartedly, but she wasn't sure if she would admit it to him.

Or if she even could. What if he WAS gone? What if he never really would come back?

Tears cascaded down her cheeks. She stumbled to the bed and laid down, keeping the shirt tucked close to her.

She woke up sometime later and ran out of the room, still clutching his shirt in her fist. There was no way she could let go of it now. For a whole month more, she kept his shirt by her at all times.

* * *

Tony watched in agonizing impatience as the progress bar slowly loaded. The lights started to flicker as the computer sucked out the energy from other appliances in the room.

It was finally loaded. He used the remaining energy in the arc reactor to power the suit, if he made it out of this place, he would have to find help within hours or else he wouldn't make it.

He could hear the whispers of men close by. He stomped toward them and took them out with one fatal swoop of his metal-clad arm, along with a couple shots from a gun.

He made his way through groups of gun-carrying men, pulverizing them, throwing them, anything he could, trying to remember which way to go. He finally saw the light of day coming from around the corner.

He spotted Yinsen, lying on the ground with bags filled with who-knows-what piled on top of him.

"Yinsen!" Tony yelled.

"Watch out!" Yinsen hollered, trying his best to warn Tony of Arash, who stood just at the mouth of the cave, ready to blow Tony to pieces.

Tony looked up just in time to dodge the blast and fired one of his own little missiles in that general direction. It hit the wall of rock behind Arash, blowing up a few boxes and crumbling rock around him.

Tony put his attention back to Yinsen and made his way over to him.

"Stark..." He choked out.

"Come on. We got to go. Move for me, come on. We have a plan. We're going to stick to it." Tony panted, lifting the face plate on the armor after throwing aside one of the bags on top of Yinsen.

"This was always the plan, Stark." Yinsen said hoarsely.

"Come on, you're going to go see your family. Get up." Tony said, pleading.

"My family is dead." Yinsen said quietly.

Tony's eyes widened, how could that be? He said he was going to see his family...

Then it hit him. He knew he wouldn't make it out of here from the very beginning.

"I'm going to see them now, Stark." Yinsen said, "It's okay." He swallowed and tried to get a breath, "I want this. I want this."

"Thank you for saving me." Tony said, he could feel a lump in his throat forming.

"Don't waste it. Don't...waste your life." Yinsen choked out, he exhaled slowly.

And then he was gone.

Tony sat there for a moment, taking in what had just happened. Those terrorists had just killed his only friend here in Afghanistan.

He stood with anger boiling in his eyes. The men outside could hear the stomping of the suit as Tony walked closer to the opening of the cave.

Once Tony stood in the light, it broke loose. The terrorists started shooting at him like mad men. Tony stood against it and waited.

"My turn." He said and unleashed a barrage of bullets and missiles, along with a flame thrower, lighting on fire every filled box of explosives. Everywhere around him was on fire, it seemed as though he were in the middle of an inferno. He could feel the bullets from the remaining men, hitting the various parts of his suit and creating some parts to short out.

"I've got to get out of here." He whispered to himself, it was getting extremely hot in the suit, he could feel it burning his shoulders.

He activated the built up energy within his boots and let it loose. He shot through the air just as the rest of the explosive-filled boxes blew up, also sending him further into the air.

He found himself yelling as he flew through the air. Unlike his suit back at home, he had no control over this one. He could feel himself decelerating and the gravity pulling him down.

There was a small BOOM and a giant puff of dust as Tony landed in a bed of sand.

Right out in the middle of the crater where Gene had died.

* * *

Pepper sat on the couch in the living room, Tony's shirt in her lap. She ran her fingers over it constantly, almost as though it were some kind of pet sleeping in her lap.

She wasn't sure how much longer she could handle this for. Tony either had to come home soon, or she would blow up with depression and sadness. She let out a shaky breath and brought the shirt up to her face to smell it again. The smell of Tony was slowly fading from it, but she chose not to pay attention to that. She had slept with his shirt every night since she had found it about two weeks earlier. It was the shirt he had worn the night before he left.

"Come home, Tony..." She whispered. Today was the three month mark. Three months. How had she lasted this long?

She leaned her head back on the sofa and dozed off with the shirt still in her arms.

* * *

Tony was able to slowly get himself out of the mess of metal he had created. The landing was not a nice one, but at least it hadn't killed him.

A few minutes later he was able to dig himself out of the sand. He looked around him, recognizing the crater he had landed in. "Wow... of all the places for me to land." He shook his head in disbelief and started walking in the direction where he knew a military base was. He couldn't help but think about the chance of him dying. They would find him out in this crater, and only Rhodey and Pepper would fully understand the irony in the situation. He wouldn't let that happen though. About an hour later of traversing across the giant crater, he finally started to reach the incline. He could do this. His thoughts were focused on home, and what waited for him there. Pepper would do one of two things, she would either slap him, or hug him. Maybe both. And possibly a small kiss? He wouldn't press his luck. He smiled at the thought of a kiss from Pepper.

While he was completely immersed in his thoughts, he barely started to register the loud hum of helicopter blades. He looked up, waving his hand and yelling.

"HEY!" He yelled, laughing with complete happiness. He was going to make it. He reached the top of the incline and as the helicopter landed, Tony fell to his knees, feeling the exhaustion hit. His right arm was still in the air, he formed a peace sign, leaving two fingers in the air. He thought of the soldier that had asked to take a picture with him and the lives that were taken by the terrorists that had kidnapped and tortured him and killed Yinsen.

Overwhelmed by the emotions of the day, tears started to form in his tired eyes. He was going home.

He could see Rhodey running straight for him. He knelt down in front of him, "How was the 'fun-vee'?" Rhodey asked rhetorically. Tony snorted and leaned forward, his head hitting Rhodey's shoulder.

Rhodey wrapped his arm around Tony, trying not to add too much pressure to his burned and bloody shoulders. "Next time, you ride with me, okay?" Rhodey said, closing his eyes. He had found his best friend. He knew he would.

Rhodey helped Tony into the chopper and sat him down and buckled him in. "Thank you mom." Tony said, joking.

Rhodey let out a shaky laugh, even at a time like this, Tony could still crack a joke.

"Pepper." Tony said as the chopper started to lift into the air, his face turning serious. "Where's a phone?" Tony was looking around.

Rhodey smiled, of course he wanted to get a hold of Pepper. Rhodey pulled out a phone and dialed the mansion's number.

Pepper was still sitting on that couch, holding that darn shirt when the phone rang. She looked at the Caller ID. Rhodey.

"Oh my word. I am not answering!" She knew exactly what he would say, "I'm so sorry Pepper, I still haven't found him." Rhodey had said that to her every week.

She let the phone ring and kept watching her TV show, turning up the volume.

The phone stopped ringing. And then started again. "Really Rhodey? Really?" Pepper squeezed her eyes shut. "I don't need to hear the bad news again this week."

Again this week. Rhodey had already called this week...so why would he call again?...

Her eyes widened in realization. She flew to the other end of the couch where the phone sat in its cradle on an end table. She grabbed it and pressed Call.

"Hello?" She practically yelled.

"Pepper! It's Rhodey, I-" Rhodey was cut off by someone talking.

"Give it to me!" She heard a muffled yell. "Dude! Just hang on, let me-"

"NO! Give it to me!" Was it? Was it Tony? She was holding her breath.

"Pepper." It was just that one word, her name, and the voice that said it that sent her heart pumping.

"Tony?" Pepper choked.

"It's me. How are you?" He asked.

"How am I? Are you kidding me? How are YOU?" Tears were running down her cheeks, she was grinning like the love-sick fool she knew she was, "Tony, don't ever scare me like that ever again! I've been able to do nothing, Tony. NOTHING. I couldn't focus, and now I STILL won't be able to focus, because all I'll be thinking about is when you get back. When do you get back, by the way? How long do I have to wait?" Pepper asked. She could hear Tony laughing in the background, a couple of raspy coughs in between.

"Pepper, Pep, calm down. I'll be home in...Rhodey, when will we be home?"

She heard the muffled voice of Rhodey, "We'll be back in the states in about seven hours, but then another three to get to Malibu, California."

"Did you hear Rhodey, Pep?" Tony asked.

"Yes, I did. I'll be waiting at the base for you." It was so good to hear him again.

There was a pause, "It's good to hear your voice again, Tony." Pepper said, her voice soft.

Tony could tell she was crying, "You have no idea how much I wanted to hear you again, Pepper. I can't even wait to see you."

Pepper was totally blushing. "Oh I don't know about that, I think I have an idea of what you're feeling."

"Really? Do you, now?" Tony chuckled.

"Quit the phone-flirting!" Rhodey yelled. Tony and Pepper both laughed. "I'll see you soon, Pepper." Tony said, quite reluctant to hang up the phone.

"Okay...see you soon." Pepper said, not wanting to hang up, ever.

Pepper set the phone in its cradle and sank back into the sofa. She felt like she was in a dream. Tony was coming home.

* * *

YAY! Tony comes HOME! :D Review please!


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Pepper hadn't been able to sleep or eat. She took a shower and did her hair. Her eyes were red and there were dark circles under them. "I look like a nightmare." She stated as she looked into the mirror.

She had been waiting for eight and a half hours since Tony had called. She was about to leave with Happy to go to the Airforce base. She dressed in a casual business suit and walked out the front door, telling Jarvis to lock it after she left.

Pepper and Happy arrived at the base a half an hour later, she had about an hour to wait. This was going to be the longest hour of her life.

Half an hour later Happy was able to get clearance to drive him and Pepper down to the tarmac to wait for the plane.

Now she had a half an hour to wait. "This is going to kill me." Pepper said, standing on the tarmac.

"That would be a shame, since Tony will be here in...27 minutes." Happy said, smirking.

"Okay, so I was being a little dramatic. I'm just having a hard time waiting." Pepper shifted on her feet.

Finally, ten minutes later, she could make out the speck on the horizon, a plane coming in. Pepper's stomach was doing flip-flops. It was a good thing she hadn't eaten anything, otherwise, it might be making an appearance on the tarmac.

The plane finally landed and taxied its way over to where Pepper and Happy were located. The back ramp of the plane lowered, she could see Tony stand up from a wheel chair and slowly made his way down the ramp with Rhodey's help.

Pepper's eyes started to tear up. 'Not again.' She moaned, she had cried way too much these past months. She knew there would be cameras watching them, and that there would be the slight chance that whatever happened could make its way on to the internet, but she didn't care. Tony was home.

Tony was half way to her, waving away a gurney. Pepper couldn't help but laugh. And she could hardly wait for him to get to her.

She started walking toward him. They met somewhere in the middle. They stopped and stared at each other for just a moment, Pepper inspecting him. Other than a couple of cuts on his face and neck, he looked fine. He had taken off the sling that held one of his arms, apparently, he wasn't hurt too badly.

Tony watched her watching him. This was quite entertaining. He noticed that her eyes were red, and there were dark circles under them, and her clothes didn't fit her as well. He brought his hand up to the side of her face and wiped a stray tear away with his thumb. "Pepper." Tony said quietly.

Pepper could hardly breathe, her chest felt tight. "Don't ever go to Afghanistan again." She said, her voice low.

Tony couldn't help but smile, "I won't go back if you stop starving yourself and losing sleep over me."

Pepper's mouth opened, she couldn't think of what to say for a moment. "Do I really look that bad?"

Tony snorted, "No. I can just tell that you're completely stressed and you probably suffered some kind of anxiety while I was gone."

"I couldn't help it. It's not like I tried to starve myself! I just..." For once, she couldn't think of what to say.

"You know, you can die from lack of sleep, and lack of eating." Tony said, "You were probably in danger of dying just as much as I was." He winked and stepped closer to her.

Pepper choked out a laugh, she was trying hard not to cry. This was the most ridiculous conversation ever. And she was having it with him the minute he had stepped off the plane from being a hostage in Afghanistan.

Tony closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms around her. Encasing her completely in his arms. Pepper let out a sigh, her knees shaking. Her eyes closed, and she let herself melt against him.

"Tony, I missed you so much. Don't ever leave." She whispered.

Tony bent his head down, kissing the top of her head. "I won't leave you."

* * *

Tony and Pepper got in the car, "Where to sir?" Happy asked.

"Take us to the hospital please, Happy." Pepper said.

"No." Tony said defiantly.

"No?" Pepper asked, completely confused. "Tony, you have to go to the hospital."

"No, I don't really have to do anything, I've been in captivity for three months. I want an American Cheeseburger, and I want you to call for a press conference."

"Uh-what? A press conference? Are you being serious right now?" Pepper asked.

"Yes, I am."

"You're delirious." Pepper said.

"Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first." Tony commanded.

* * *

They arrived at Stark Industries, Obadiah opened Tony's door to let him out. "Look at this!" He smiled nicely, "We were going to meet at the hospital." Obadiah said, confused.

"No, I'm fine." Tony said, brushing past him.

Pepper walked in right behind Tony, who was chomping away at a cheeseburger. She could not believe him. Then she spotted someone she knew from a long time ago. "Tony!" She hissed, he turned in her direction as they walked. Her eyes grew wide, "There's an agent from S.H.I.E.L.D. here..."

Tony shrugged, "Okay..."

"And he had a huge crush on me when I worked there!" Pepper spat out.

Tony started laughing, "He's probably just here to listen to what I'm going to say." He said, almost walking backwards in order to talk to Pepper.

"And what are you going to say?" She asked suspiciously.

"And he wouldn't win in a competition between me and him." Tony said, choosing not to answer her question.

"What do you mean?" Pepper asked, genuinely confused.

"I mean, if he-they, wanted you to go back and work for S.H.I.E.L.D., there would be no competition, because, clearly, it's better to work for me than that crazy man FURY." Tony said, accentuating the name Fury and making a face. He did that every time.

"I'm right though, right?" Tony said with a knowing smile. She wouldn't quit. No way.

Pepper just rolled her eyes, but with a smile on her face.

Pepper stood toward the back, she hadn't spotted the agent again since they had entered.

"Miss Potts?" Pepper jumped slightly.

"Oh! Hi Agent Coulson..." Pepper gave a small smile.

Agent Coulson looked her over for a moment, "You seem a little flustered."

"Uh, yes. It's been one surprise right after another today." She said.

"We would like to debrief Mr. Stark about the circumstances of his escape." He stated.

"I'll put something in the book, shall I?" She asked, smiling nicely again.

Rhodey came up and stood next to Pepper. "Do you know why he's calling for a press conference?"

"I have no clue." Pepper said. "I don't know what he's up to."

Tony started the conference with a shocking opener, "I saw young Americans killed, by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw, that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."

"Mr. Stark!" A reporter cried out. "What happened over there?" He asked. The room went dead silent.

"I had my eyes opened. I came to realize, that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International-" The entire room exploded with questions from reporters.

"Oh my..." Pepper's mouth had fallen open in complete surprise. Rhodey couldn't believe what his friend had just said.

"-until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be. What direction it should take, one that I'm comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country as well." He ended, his voice raising over the commotion of the room.

Obadiah took over the podium from Tony, "What we should take away from this, is that...Tony's back!" He called, trying to draw the attention to himself. "And he's healthier than ever. We're going to have a little internal discussion, and we'll get back to you with the follow-up." Nobody was really paying attention. They were trying to get to Tony.

"Mr. Stark!" They all called at different times. It was a tidal wave of reporters. Tony made a bee-line right for Pepper.

"Come on, let's go." He said as he grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the oncoming reporters. Tony could feel Obadiah's eyes boring into the back of his head.

* * *

"Are you NUTS?" Pepper yelled as they both shut the doors to their car.

"Someone is shipping weapons from Stark Industries to the Middle East. They're FUNDING the war, Pepper! They're fueling it." Tony couldn't help but feel responsible.

"But Tony! We should have been more quiet about it, looked things up and tried to see who it was before letting them know we knew something was going on under the table!" Pepper exclaimed.

"Pepper, the longer we wait, more weapons will only make their way into the Middle East, and I don't want that to happen. I WILL find them. Fire them. Put them in jail. Anything." Tony took a deep breath and sank into the seat of his chair.

"All right...I'll trust you on this one, but I really hope you find who ever is doing this before the stocks drop horribly." Pepper said.

"I don't care anymore." Tony said bluntly.

"Okay...well, I guess that doesn't matter then." Pepper said, getting a bit annoyed. She couldn't help but be happy though. Tony was back.

* * *

A day later, Tony and Pepper sat in the kitchen of the mansion. "I'm sorry I didn't let you take the suit with you." Pepper said.

Tony seemed a little taken back, "Uh...what?" He thought for a moment, then realized what she meant, "Please don't blame yourself for what happened, Pepper. We went over why I shouldn't take the armor to Afghanistan, and you were right, and I still stand by that." He stood from the table and walked over to her. She was standing by the fridge, taking out the milk and filling up a cup and adding some Nestle chocolate powder.

"Chocolate milk?" Pepper asked, handing him the cup.

"I thought you were making that for yourself." Tony said, not taking the cup from her.

She still held it out to him, "I'm not hungry."

"Have you eaten anything this morning?" He asked.

There was a pause. "No..."

Tony sighed, "Pepper, you've got to eat something."

"I know." She said, finally looking up at him. "I'm just trying to ease into things."

Tony narrowed his eyes at her, "I mean, right now. Can I see you eat something?" Tony asked. He pointed at the cup of chocolate milk, "Drink it."

Pepper rolled her eyes and brought the cup to her lips. She took a few sips, stared at it for a moment, and then downed the entire thing. "Okay. I'm hungry." She turned back to the fridge and opened it, taking out the eggs.

She held the eggs for a minute, just staring at them. "I don't think I can eat eggs." She was losing her appetite again.

"What? How come?" Tony asked.

"I ate eggs every morning when you were gone." She said quietly.

"Oh...well, you could eat toast! Or a banana. Or...cereal. French toast? Pancakes. Waffles? I'll make something for you! Just go sit down, and it'll be done in a minute." He smiled and pushed her toward the table.

"See? It'll be like I never left. Like when I made breakfast for you every morning after your car accident." He said, trying to convince Pepper he really was perfectly fine.

He bent over to grab a frying pan, pain shooting through his chest. He dropped the frying pan and fell to one knee.

"Tony?" Pepper ran around the counter and found him kneeling on the floor. "Are you okay? What's wrong? What happened?" She asked frantically.

"I'm okay. I'm okay." Tony mumbled, standing up. He stood too quickly. His eyesight went fuzzy and he started to lean forward. Pepper grabbed him around the waist, trying to keep him steady. It was like hugging a rag-doll. He was going to fall on top of her.

Tony reached out and grabbed the side of the counter. "I'm good. I'm okay." He said, his eyes closed.

"Are you sure?" She asked hesitantly. She was still wrapped around him.

"Uh, ya. Ya, I'm okay now." Tony smiled at the thought of Pepper trying to hold him up.

Before Pepper let go, Tony wrapped his arms around her, trapping her against him. "You know what this reminds me of?" He asked, laughing as Pepper responded with a muffled, "What?" Her face was buried in his chest.

"When I was wheeling you out of the hospital, and you tried to get out of the wheelchair by yourself." He said, still laughing.

Pepper couldn't help but laugh either. "I'm so stubborn."

"Ya you are." He said, letting her go.

"Okay, but what's wrong?" She asked, motioning to all of him.

"Well...my shoulders are burning, my cuts are stinging, oh, and my arc reactor is failing." He threw in.

"What?" Pepper exclaimed, "Make a new one! Go downstairs!" She shoved him toward the basement while Tony laughed. "I'll be down there in a little bit to check on you." She said. "I'll make my own breakfast."

"You better!" Tony called from the stairs.

Tony stumbled down to the basement, "Wow, this thing barely took any of the power I hooked it up to yesterday." The minute he had gotten home from the press conference, he had headed straight for the basement to plug in his arc reactor. Apparently, it had barely lasted the night.

"This thing is depleting fast!" He sat down on the old couch and plugged the cord into the side of his reactor. He sat there for about twenty minutes, watching TV before he unplugged it and started on a new one.

* * *

Pepper had successfully made herself some breakfast and then turned on the TV. After watching the News for about an hour and working on e-mails she asked Jarvis how Tony was doing.

"Jarvis, how is Tony doing downstairs?" She asked.

"Miss Potts, Mr. Stark has collapsed to the floor." It took a moment for Pepper to realize what Jarvis had just said.

"WHAT? Jarvis! You're supposed to tell me these things!" She jumped off the couch and ran down the stairs, she opened the door using her code and stepped into the work space.

"Tony?" Pepper called, walking around and trying to find him. She finally found him by his desk. He was lying on his side and breathing shallowly.

She turned him onto his back and assessed the problem. His shirt was off, and in his hand he was holding the old arc reactor, she looked at his chest, expecting to find an empty cylinder. But instead, she found a new shiny arc reactor. She frowned, then what was the problem?

"Jarvis? What am I supposed to do?" Pepper asked, looking around for something, anything to use.

"Miss Potts, if you could plug him in, it would be greatly appreciated. But he will still need to sleep for a short time while the new reactor charges."

Pepper ran and grabbed the charger for Tony's reactor and pulled it in his direction. It wouldn't reach. "Oh you've got to be kidding me!" She yelled to no one in particular.

She couldn't unplug it because it had to be hooked to a power source that emitted energy in small waves, rather than the ongoing ones. And there was only one of those in this basement. She turned around and looked at the sleeping Tony. She could already feel her muscles aching at the idea of lifting him and/or dragging him to the couch. She put her forearms under his arms and lifted his upper half off the ground, then turned him in the direction of the couch. She heard him mumble a bit, but she couldn't hear what he said. She dragged him across the cold floor, only feet from the couch.

"Almost there..." She groaned, trying to lift him further off the ground and on to the couch.

"Hmm?" She heard Tony mumble, his eyes fluttering open. "What the...?" He asked, she could tell he still wasn't entirely awake.

She set him down on the floor as she sat down on the couch and let out a huff. "Tony, you need to lay down on the couch, please." She said, patting the couch cushion next to her.

Tony moved slowly, getting up, not even opening his eyes and rolled onto the couch. And right on top of Pepper.

"Oof!" Pepper yelled, surprised. He had fallen right on top of her. She was now laying on the couch, with a dead-weight. She didn't want to wake him, but she needed to grab the plug-in. She reached out toward the floor, her fingers flailing.

"So...close..." She moaned. She shifted slightly, Tony mumbling something as she moved.

"Yes!" She whispered as she grabbed it. She pulled the cord and plugged it into Tony's reactor implant. She let out a sigh, "Finally."

She was about to shift herself from under Tony when he snaked his arms under and around her, pinning her arms against her and burying his head in the crook of her neck. "Ooookay..." She whispered. Unless she wanted to wake him up, there was nothing she could do, except, act as a giant pillow for Tony Stark.

She looked around the room, "Jarvis...how long does Tony need to sleep for?" She whispered.

"Approximately two hours." Jarvis stated.

Pepper's face pinched together in a grimace. "Oh man...two hours? I have so much to do." She thought for a moment, "I guess I could just take a nap for...two hours." She rolled her eyes.

Pepper wondered what it would be like to date Tony...

"Don't go there..." She said to herself. She laid there, trying to make her mind void of anything Tony. But that was proving to be extremely difficult, since he was lying on top of her. She became very aware of his breath on her throat, his bare chest and bandaged shoulders, and the fact that his arms were woven around her.

She closed her eyes and forced herself to take a nap.

* * *

Tony started to register a really loud and annoying beeping noise. "Jarvis...Turn it off." He moaned.

"Sir, Miss Potts told me to wake you when your two hours were up. It has been approximately two hours." Jarvis quipped.

"Thank you." Tony mumbled. He started to realize that the couch he was laying on was quite stiff and not completely flat...he opened his eyes and lifted his head off the "couch".

"Oh..." Tony's eyes widened. He was looking right at a sleeping Pepper. "What on earth happened?" He asked himself.

Pepper stirred slightly, moving her head to the other side. Tony slowly got off of her and sat on the edge of the couch and placed his arm on the other side of her. "Pepper..." Tony said, "I think our nap is over."

Pepper's eyes fluttered open, "Mmmkay." She mumbled and turned onto her side. Tony chuckled, "Pepper, I'm sure there's a lot of stuff you need to do. I know I've got a lot to work on."

Pepper forced her eyes open and sighed, "Next time, can you have someone else plug you in? I don't think I have the time to take a nap every time you have to charge."

Tony laughed and shook his head, "I don't have anyone...but you, to...you know, help me out." Pepper looked up to see him completely serious.

She took a deep breath and sat up on the couch and looked at Tony. "Maybe you should put a shirt on, you're making me crazy." She patted his chest where the arc reactor was and stood.

She passed by him and went up the stairs to work on her laptop. Tony was still staring at where she had disappeared at the top of the stairs. "I'm making her crazy? I hope that's a good kind of crazy..." He smiled at the thought of it.

Tony went to work on repairing his old arc reactor, but finally got fed up with it and threw it aside. He went over to his other desk, sitting down and turning on the TV while he worked on the Iron Man armor a bit more.

* * *

Hahahaha I hope you enjoyed that. I know it was more mushy...sorry. Just building it up! :D Reviews would be awesome!


	14. Chapter 14

I am SOOOOOO sorry! It's been FOREVER since I've updated last. I feel bad. It's been SO busy lately with work and home life that I can't catch a break! Hope you're still following this.

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

A few days passed and all Tony was doing was working on the Iron Man armor. It was early evening when Pepper came downstairs.

"Obadiah's here, didn't you hear me ringing for you?" She asked.

Tony looked up from what he was doing, "What? Oh. No, I didn't. I'll be up in just a minute."

Pepper nodded and made her way back upstairs. Obadiah was fingering some keys on the piano, playing a short tune while Pepper worked on the never ending e-mails.

Tony finally made an appearance, "Hey Obie." He said as he sat down on the couch. "Oh wow! You brought pizza!" He opened the box and took a piece.

"Got it all the way from New York. Why didn't you come to the Board of Directors meeting?" Obadiah asked.

Tony looked surprised, "I didn't know there was one. You told me to lay low. When we talked on the phone yesterday."

Obadiah rolled his eyes, "Okay, well, since you weren't there, they've filed an injunction. They're going to lock you out."

Tony's mouth dropped. "What? I'm doing what's good for me-the company! Obie, someone's-"

"I don't want to hear it, Tony. We need to clean up this mess. And that starts with you, starting up the weapons manufacturing again." Obadiah said, leaning back on the couch.

"I'm not going to do that. Not until I figure things out." Tony said.

Pepper sat on the other end of the couch, feeling a little awkward.

Obadiah took a deep breath, "I hope you know exactly what you're doing Tony. Because this could get a whole lot worse if you don't do something fast."

Tony nodded, "Don't worry so much, Obie. I'll have it figured out."

Obadiah got up and left, leaving the slightly cold pizza with Tony.

Days later, Tony was still working on the suit, updating it and taking a few things from other armor sets and adding it to his, including some repulsors from Rhodey's suit and adding it to his own damaged ones. He also took some of the power core and added it to his own, for more back up power in case his new reactor seemed to fail. He hadn't tested it quite yet with the suit.

Tony turned on the TV and listened to the News. "Tonight's red-hot red carpet is right here at the Disney Concert Hall, where Tony Stark's third annual benefit for the Firefighter's Family Fund has become the place to be for L.A.'s high society."

Tony frowned at the TV, "Jarvis, did we get an invite for that?"

"I have no record of an invitation, sir." Jarvis said.

"...hasn't been seen in public since his bizarre and highly controversial press conference. Some claim he's suffering from post-traumatic stress and has been bedridden for weeks. Whatever the case may be, no one expects an appearance from him tonight." The woman continued on the TV.

"Really? This is ridiculous." Tony said, shaking his head and heading up the stairs to his bedroom to wash up and change.

* * *

Obadiah stood on the steps leading to the concert hall, talking to some reporters. "Weapons manufacturing is only one small part of what Stark Industries is all about, and our partnership with the fire and rescue community..." He trailed off as he saw Tony walking toward him.

"What's the world coming to when a guy's got to crash his own party?" Tony said with a grin.

"Look at you. Hey, what a surprise." Obadiah said with some, what was that, distain? Tony thought that's what he picked up.

"Hey listen, I've got the board right where we want them, so take it slow." Obadiah said quietly.

"Oh ya, sure. No problem." Tony said, patting Stane on the shoulder and going up toward the concert hall.

Tony walked in and went up to the counter, about to order something. "Mr. Stark?" He heard from his left.

"Yeah?" He asked as he turned toward the source of the voice.

"Agent Coulson." He paused, "I know this must be a trying time for you, but we need to debrief you. There's still a lot of unanswered questions, and time can be a factor with these things."

Tony nodded, "Yes, of course." He looked out over the hall and noticed a very pretty looking red head talking with a group of people.

He blinked a couple of times, making sure it really was Pepper.

"Tell you what, you got it. You're absolutely right. I'm going to go to my assistant, and we'll...make a date." He said, completely distracted.

"You look fantastic!" Tony said as he came up next to Pepper, "I almost didn't recognize you." Tony said with a wink. Pepper was wearing a smoky blue silk gown, and her red hair was curled in loose ringlets. She looked genuinely surprised to see Tony there.

"What are you doing here?" Pepper asked.

"Just avoiding government agents." Tony smiled, nodding in the direction of Agent Coulson.

"Are you by yourself?" She asked, concerned.

"Yes. Where'd you get that dress?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, it was a birthday present." She said with a smile.

"That's great." Tony's heart sunk. Some guy probably gave it to her. Maybe it was Agent Coulson...Bah! Tony couldn't help but start to chuckle when he thought of that.

"From you, actually." Pepper threw in.

Tony's eyebrows raised and he smiled, "Well, I have great taste."

He grabbed her hand, "You want to dance?"

"Oh, no." Pepper said, she was a horrible dancer.

"All right, come on." He pulled her to the dance floor, taking her hand in his and spinning her around.

"Oh my word. You know I can't dance, Tony." Pepper said, but still smiled.

Tony smirked, "Am I making you uncomfortable?"

"Oh no, of course not." Pepper stated.

"Sure, sure..." Tony teased.

They danced for a couple of minutes before Pepper heard a familiar ringtone coming from her purse.

Pepper frowned, "I don't know what it could be for..."

Tony was about to say something when Pepper gasped and hurriedly walked toward a table and picked up her purse.

Pepper went around the corner with Tony hot on her heels. She answered her cell phone. "Hello?" She asked, her heart pounding.

"Is this Virginia Patricia Potts?" A woman asked.

"Yes, yes. This is her." She said. Her heart sunk.

"Miss Potts...your father listed you as his only remaining family, and to contact you if anything happened."

Pepper held her breath.

"I'm so sorry, but your father passed away today. Just a couple of hours ago." The woman sounded genuinely sorry.

Pepper tried to stifle a cry. "Thank you for letting me know." She choked out. Of all the nights, this one just had to be it.

Tony took her free hand in his, knowing something was wrong.

"We'll need you to come here to New York for the funeral plans. Do you know when you could be here?" She asked.

"I'm not quite sure yet, may I call you back tomorrow morning?" She asked, hopeful.

"Yes, of course." She replied.

They hung up a moment later, Pepper set the phone down.

She turned to Tony, her eyes filling with tears. "My father passed away just a few hours ago." She said through trembling lips.

Tony didn't say a word, but pulled her to him in a hug. She clung to him, crying quietly into his shirt.

"You've been through so much, recently, Pepper. Why don't we head home?" Tony asked, running his fingers through her hair.

He could feel her nod against his chest. "Ya? Okay. Let's go." Tony led her out of the concert hall, slipping around the back.

A reporter ran up to Tony, "Mr. Stark! Can you explain this?" He asked, shoving some pictures right under Tony's nose.

"Excuse me, but we're leaving." Tony said, Pepper wiped her eyes quickly.

"So much for being responsible!" The reporter said, waving the pictures.

Tony stopped walking, "What?" He asked, confused.

Pepper stood behind Tony, but could see the pictures the man was holding. Tony snatched them out of his hand and squinted at them under the light of the street lamps.

"When were these taken?" He asked.

"Yesterday." The man answered.

"I didn't approve any shipment." He said, his anger rising.

"Well your company did." The reporter shot out.

"Well, I'm not my company." Tony shot back. He slapped the pictures back down in the reporter's hands, and started heading for the car, taking Pepper's arm in his.

"What just happened? Do we need to go back there?" Pepper asked, looking over her shoulder.

"All I'm going to worry about, is getting you home." Tony said, trying not to think about what just happened.

"No, Tony. I'm fine. Let's go back so you can talk to Obadiah, see if he knows anything about it." Pepper started pulling him in the opposite direction.

Tony sighed, "Why isn't my life easy?" He asked.

"Because you're Tony Stark." She said, smiling through her tears.

Tony found Obadiah on the steps leading to the concert hall, "Please, do you mind?" Obadiah said, pushing a microphone away from his face.

"Have you seen these pictures?" Tony asked in a low voice. "What's going on in Gulmira?" He asked, he needed answers, and he needed them now.

"Tony, Tony. You can't afford to be this naive." Obadiah said with a small smile.

"You know what? I was naive before, when they said, 'Here's the line. We don't cross it. This is how we do business.'" Tony paused, "If we're double-dealing under the table...Are we?" He asked, hoping the answer was no, that this was just some sort of mix up.

"Let's take a picture! Come on, picture time!" Obadiah said, turning the both of them toward the cameras.

Obadiah leaned in close to Tony's ear, "Tony. Who do you think locked you out? I was the one who filed the injunction against you. It was the only way I could protect you."

Tony stood there in shock. Really, he should have expected this. This was exactly how the old Obadiah had been. Why was he surprised now? He truly thought Obadiah had changed. Boy was he wrong.

Tony whipped around before reporters could ask him anymore questions. He grabbed Pepper's hand and headed for the car.

Obadiah stood off to the side, watching Tony take Pepper's hand and walk away with her. "How special." He said, a small smile forming on his face.

Pepper was completely distraught, nothing was working out for her, and Tony was in shock and fuming with anger.

Except for seeing Pepper looking absolutely beautiful at the concert hall, this was probably one of the worst nights of his life. They got in Tony's car and headed home. It was about a 45 minute drive. Maybe a little more, depending on traffic.

Tony's hand was still locked with Pepper's. He could hear her sniffle every now and then. After awhile, Tony couldn't hear anything from her. He looked over and saw that she had fallen asleep.

They arrived at the mansion an hour after leaving the concert hall. Tony pulled up into the garage, got out of the car and headed to Pepper's side.

He opened the door and unbuckled her seatbelt. He slid his arms around her, one behind her back and one under her knees. Tony lifted her from the car, closing it with his foot and heading for the stairs.

Pepper's head lolled up against his shoulder as he climbed the stairs. He was trying hard not to wake her. He made it to the living room when his arms started to ache. The closest guest room was further down the hallway. His bedroom was just around the corner.

Tony took a deep breath, making a decision, and headed in the direction of his bedroom. He laid Pepper down on his bed and took off her shoes.

He knelt down by her, brushing some bangs out of her eyes, "Pepper..." He said, trying to wake her.

"Hmmm?" She hummed.

"Do you want to sleep in the dress that I supposedly got for you? Or would you like me to grab you some sweats?" Tony asked quietly.

"Sweats..." She mumbled, her eyes still closed.

Tony got up and searched through his dresser for some sweats. He found some and set them by Pepper, then left the room.

Tony went into the living room and turned on the TV, watching for some news on Gulmira.

Tony frowned when he heard the door to his bedroom open. "Tony?" He heard Pepper whisper. He looked up to see her dressed in his sweats. Her eyes were red, and there were tear streaks all down her cheeks. She had started crying again.

Tony stood from the couch and walked over to her, giving her a hug, "I'm so sorry, Pepper." They stood, hugging each other for a few minutes.

"Maybe you should try to go to sleep?" Tony suggested.

Pepper looked up at him, "I don't want to be alone." She said quietly, more tears coming to her eyes.

Tony wiped some tears away, turned off the TV, and walked with Pepper back to his room. Tony and Pepper laid down in his bed. He pulled the covers up around them both, Tony was still in his nice shirt and dress pants.

"You don't want to change?" Pepper asked.

"Nah. I'm too tired." Tony yawned. Truth was, he wasn't sure he'd be able to sleep at all tonight. There was too much information bumping around in his head.

"Okay..." Pepper said, her eyelids drooping. Tony watched as Pepper's eyes closed, he reached out and slid his fingers through her strawberry hair. "Good night, Pepper." Tony leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead.

Surprisingly, Tony slept that night. And quite peacefully.

Tony woke the next morning with his arm draped over Pepper, and they were a lot closer. Tony got up from the bed, careful not to wake Pepper and went into the living room, turning the TV on again and switching it to the news.

"The 15 mile hike to the outskirts of Gulmira can only be described as a descent into hell, into a modern day Heart of Darkness. Simple farmers and herders from peaceful villages have been driven from their homes, displaced from their lands by warlords emboldened by a new-found power. Villagers have been forced to take shelter in whatever crude dwellings they can find in the ruins of other villages, or here in the remnants of an old Soviet smelting plant." The woman reporting turned around, glancing at the people making the trek behind her.

"Recent violence has been attributed to a group of foreign fighters referred to by locals as the Ten Rings. As you can see, these men are heavily armed and on a mission. A mission that could prove fatal to anyone who stands in their way. With no political will or international pressure, there's very little hope for these refugees. Around me, a woman begging for news on her husband, who was kidnapped by insurgents, either forced to join their militia...a child's simple question, 'Where are my mother and father?'" Tony pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I am responsible for this." Tony said to himself. He ran down to the basement where his armor was located.

Tony suited up and shot through a designated hole, heading straight for Gulmira, Afghanistan.

Tony arrived in Gulmira, seeing the destruction and havoc that was being wreaked there. He threw a few people, and when they started taking hostages, he targeted each of the terrorists faces and shot at them. He hadn't really been keen on killing people, but this was a war, and these men would only cause more trouble later on if he let them live.

He used his infrared screen to find anyone hiding in the buildings around them. He spotted someone behind a wall lifting up some kind of device. A satellite phone. Tony pounded through the wall and grabbed the man by the coat, pulling him out and landing him in the middle of the dirt road. "He's all yours." Tony said, glancing back and recognizing the man lying on the ground. He was the one back in the caves, the one that had almost drowned him in a tub of water.

He took a deep breath and shot into the sky, searching for the Jericho Missile he had seen in the photos that the reporter had taken.

He found them a few miles away and shot a small missile at it, blowing it to smithereens. A second later, a shot from a tank rang out, hitting Tony and sending him right into the ground.

Tony shook his head and got up out of the crater that he had just pulverized into the ground. He shot another small missile at the Tank, blowing it to pieces.

* * *

Pepper's eyes shot open, "Tony!" She yelled, waking up and looking around. No Tony. She started to panic for just a moment before remembering everything from Tony's arrival from Afghanistan to the news that her dad had passed away the day before.

Pepper sighed and got out of bed, she padded down the hall, "Tony?" She called.

"Jarvis, where's Tony?" She asked.

"Mr. Stark has left on a mission. He will be back in approximately three hours." Jarvis stated.

Pepper rolled her eyes, "Where did he leave to?" She asked.

"Afghanistan." Jarvis said.

Pepper felt like she had been hit in the stomach, "What?" She yelled, "I can't believe he went back there!" She fumed.

"Miss Potts, he is destroying the weapons that were sent there illegally." Jarvis piped up again.

She took a deep breath, "Thank you, Jarvis. I guess I'll just have to wait for him."

* * *

Tony arrived home completely tired. His machines took his armor off and as he turned around he was startled to see an angry looking Pepper Potts right in front of him.

"Tony..." She said, dangerously quiet.

"Pepper, I'm sorry." He said, grimacing.

"I know where you went, I know you were destroying the weapons that they obtained illegally, but I can't help but be upset. And I know that you know why." Pepper pointed at him accusingly.

"I do. And I'm sorry, Pepper. I had to." Tony said, stepping closer to her.

"I know. You always do." Pepper looked up at Tony, patted the arc reactor imbedded in his chest, and turned to go upstairs.

* * *

Pepper called the woman in New York to let her know she would be there to do funeral arrangements for her father. Tony, Rhodey, and Pepper all got on Tony's private jet and flew to New York, on the way, Pepper wrote her father's obituary. This was going to be a long plane ride...

Tony heard some sniffling from Pepper in the chair next to him. He laced his fingers through hers, giving her an encouraging smile. Rhodey placed a hand on her shoulder, "You'll be fine. Everything will be okay."

Pepper nodded, "Thanks, Rhodey. I appreciate you guys coming with me."

"We would never leave you to do this alone." Tony said, "We're with you all the way."

The funeral was two days later at the mortuary, and it went smoothly. The director of the FBI spoke at his funeral, along with a few short words from Tony and Rhodey, then Pepper stood, tears falling down her face as she talked about her father and the love he had had for her mother and herself.

The funeral ended, and Pepper, Tony, and Rhodey headed for the cemetery where her father would be buried.

Almost all of them fell asleep on the plane ride home. Except for Tony, of course. What was he going to do about Obadiah? About what was happening with the company? They were dealing under the table, and he had to figure out a way to stop them. Even if it meant still going to Afghanistan with the armor and blowing up every weapon that had been sold to them.

* * *

On the other side of the world, a large vehicle pulled up to a makeshift camp. Doors opened, and out stepped...Obadiah Stane. He had taken advantage of the few days that Tony and his friends were gone in New York for a funeral to leave for Afghanistan. He and his men made their way to a large tent.

"Welcome." Arash said, opening the tent for Mr. Stane. Obadiah noticed the large burns and blood on the side of his head. "Compliments of Tony Stark." Arash said, motioning at the side of his face.

"If you'd killed him when you were supposed to, you'd still have a face." Obadiah snarled.

"You paid us trinkets to kill a prince." Arash said venomously.

"Show me the weapon." Stane said, ignoring Arash.

"Come. Leave your guards outside." He led Obadiah further into the tent, "His escape bore unexpected fruit."

"So this is how he did it..." Obadiah pondered, "Tony Stark is Iron Man." Having said it, he truly wasn't all that surprised. It made sense.

"Stark has made a masterpiece of death. Now we know who is capable of making this, and a man with a dozen of these, can rule all of Asia." Arash smiled at the thought. "We have a common enemy. If you are still in business, I will give you these designs as a gift. And in turn, I hope you'll repay me with a gift of iron soldiers."

Arash turned to look at Stane, but heard an intense high pitched sound penetrating his ear. He could feel his muscles lock, and his breath grow short.

Obadiah leaned over with some kind of device, and he had ear plugs in his ears. He took them out and looked at Arash, "Technology..." He sighed, "It's always been your Achilles' heel in this part of the world. Don't worry. It'll only last for fifteen minutes. That's the least of your problems." He patted his shoulder and left the tent, yelling to his men to crate up the armor, "All right, let's finish up here." A number of gunshots rang out in the night.

Obadiah got in the car and called one of his men back at Stark Industries. "Set up a Sector underneath the arc reactor, and I'm going to want this data masked. Recruit our top engineers. I want a prototype right away."

* * *

Only a few days later, Pepper walked down to the basement where she spotted Tony working on the Iron Man suit.

She stepped into the work space, about to say something, but Tony beat her to it.

"Hey! Are you busy at the moment?" He asked quickly.

"Uh...Well, not exactly." Pepper said, waiting to hear what he wanted.

"Do you mind if I send you on an errand? I need you to go to my office." Tony said, turning from the armor and grabbing something.

"You're going to need to hack into the mainframe and you're going to retrieve all the recent shipping manifests." He paused, setting down some kind of device.

"This is a lock chip. This'll get you in. It's probably under Executive Files. If not, they put it on a ghost drive, in which case you need to look for the lowest numeric heading." Tony looked up at Pepper, who seemed a little surprised.

"You want me to break in to your own computer?" She asked, confused.

"I'm really suspicious of Obadiah. Will you do this for me?" Tony asked, hoping she would.

Pepper took a deep breath, "And if I get this information, what do you plan on doing with it?"

"They've been dealing under the table, and I'm going to stop them. I'm going to find my weapons and destroy them." Tony said.

Pepper nodded, "Okay."

"Okay?" Tony was confused. He had prepared himself for an argument with her.

"Yes." She smiled, "Besides, I'm good at it. I broke into my dad's computer and got to FBI files all the time." Her eyes seemed like they were looking far away, into the past.

Tony smiled, he could always count on Pepper. "Information is what I do." She said, "But Tony, please be careful. I don't want you to kill yourself with the information that I bring back."

She paused, looking Tony straight in the eyes, "You're all I have too, you know."

Tony met her gaze and smiled sadly, "I know." He paused, "Please be careful. I don't know what Obadiah has in mind for either one of us, if he's the one behind this."

Pepper nodded, "Of course. I'll use my amazing S.H.I.E.L.D. skills." She joked, walking toward the door, glancing back at a still smiling Tony.

* * *

Oh boy! What's going to happen next?...Reviews please!


	15. Chapter 15

Whew! This is a pretty long chapter. You better love it... ;) Haha

* * *

Chapter Fifteen

Pepper drove quickly to Stark International and used her key card to get in the building. She went through the various hallways and passed a few receptionists, all of which glanced up, and then glanced back down. 'Don't mess with Tony's P.A.' is what everybody told everyone else.

She finally got to the large double doors and opened them quietly. She sat down at the desk where the computer faced away from the door. She inserted the lock chip into the computer and waited for it to gain access to the mainframe. For a few seconds she wasn't sure it would work, but it finally accepted the chip and opened up the computer. She looked through the Executive Files, but didn't find anything, then went for whatever ghost drive there might be and looked for the lowest numeric heading.

There was something labeled that caught her eye, "Sector 16? What are you up to, Obadiah?" She asked herself quietly.

She went through the files, the computer brought up a video, a voice rang out over the speakers, but she couldn't understand the language. She clicked "Translate" and a language she recognized started to chatter through the speakers this time.

"As you can see, Obadiah Stane...Your deception and lies will cost you dearly."

Pepper looked closely at the video, seeing a man rip a bag off of a another man's head who was sitting on a chair, hands tied, "Oh my..." She whispered. It was none other than Tony Stark.

"The price to kill Tony Stark has just gone up." Pepper quickly shut down the video and started copying the files to the chip she had hooked into the computer.

"So what are we going to do about this?" Pepper's eyes snapped from the computer to the door, where Obadiah stood. Her heart was pounding a million miles an hour. He walked into the room with a wary smile on his face.

"I know what you're going through, Pepper..." He said as he walked toward the table. He picked up some alcohol and poured it into a glass. Pepper used a newspaper sitting on the table to hide the flash drive sticking out of the computer.

Pepper had to think of something fast, if he came any closer he would see all of his secret information being copied. She slightly moved the mouse up to the top right corner and clicked Screen Saver. The computer showed a bunch of cool looking cars going across the screen as Obadiah walked behind her, gazing at the computer, and sat down on the edge of the table.

"I was so happy when he came home...It was like we got him back from the dead. Now I realize...well, Tony never really did come home, did he?" He paused, looking Pepper in the eyes.

"He left a part of himself in that cave." He paused, "Breaks my heart."

Liar. That's all Pepper could think.

"Well, he's a complicated person. He's been through a lot. I think he'll be all right." Play it safe, Pepper...was all she could say to herself. She gave a small smile, trying to make it genuine, but it was proving to be difficult.

Obadiah stared at her for a moment. It was making Pepper extremely uncomfortable.

"You are a very rare woman. Tony doesn't know how lucky he is." Obadiah sipped some of his drink.

"Thank you. Thanks." Pepper said, feeling the need to vacate the premises. "Well, I'd better get back there." She said, motioning toward the door. She stood and grabbed the paper as well as the flash drive, heading for the door.

"Is that today's paper?" Obadiah asked. Pepper stopped in her tracks.

"Uh, yes." She said, turning as he approached her. She handed him the paper and then headed out the door.

The second she left the room, Obadiah turned back and sat down at the computer, moving the mouse.

He read, 'Download Complete' on the computer screen. His eyes lit up with anger and pulled out his phone.

Someone picked up quickly, "I need you to pick up someone for me." He said menacingly. "Her car should be parked out back. She'll be heading out there soon."

Obadiah got up from his chair and went to the overlooking balcony, watching Pepper descend the stairs. She was walking quickly.

Obadiah headed down the stairs after Pepper disappeared through a door with an Agent. He turned the other way and went straight for the arc reactor room.

He entered the main room and noticed the scientists he had put to work on miniaturizing the arc reactor, just as the model back in Afghanistan had shown on the sketches Tony had drawn.

"Mr. Stane? Sir, we've explored what you've asked us, and it seems as though there's a little hiccup. Actually..." The scientist stuttered.

"A hiccup?"

"Yes, to power the suit, sir, the technology actually doesn't exist." He said.

"Wait, wait, wait. The technology? William, here is the technology. I've asked you to simply make it smaller." Obadiah said, simmering with anger as he motioned to the giant Arc Reactor powering the factory.

"Okay, sir, and that's what we're trying to do, but honestly, it's impossible." William said quickly.

Obadiah turned around, completely frustrated. He whipped back around at the scientist and poked his chest, "Tony Stark was able to build this in a CAVE!" He yelled.

"Well, I'm sorry. I'm not Tony Stark." The scientist said, putting his hands up in surrender.

Obadiah's eyes lit up with an idea. "All of you, leave. I'll figure this out myself." The scientists stood with their mouths open in surprise.

* * *

Pepper reached the bottom of the stairs, and she could feel Obadiah's eyes boring into her back. "Miss Potts. We had an appointment." She heard a familiar voice. Agent Coulson...

"Oh, yes. You're right. This way." She said, motioning toward a small conference room. They stepped in and took a seat. In reality, she had no idea what she was going to say to this man.

"Agent Coulson, I'm really sorry, but I have nothing. No information to give you. Tony hasn't talked to me about his escape from Afghanistan. I've been meaning to ask him. Today actually, but I needed to come here to run an errand." Pepper explained before even letting Agent Coulson say anything.

He seemed a little flustered. "Uh, well. Shall we set another date, then?" Agent Coulson asked. "Tomorrow?" He pressed.

Pepper opened her mouth, "Yes. Yes of course. Tomorrow is fine." She pressed her lips together in a tight smile. She had a feeling that Agent Coulson would never leave her and Tony alone.

Boy was she right. Agent Coulson and Pepper shook hands, Pepper offering another apology about her lack of information. Agent Coulson left the conference room, leaving Pepper sitting by herself.

She left the room and looked back up toward Tony's office. The doors were left open and Obadiah was no where in sight. She climbed up the stairs quickly and entered the office. She almost ran to the computer.

The screen saver was off, and the words "Download Complete" were visible on the screen.

"He knows..." She whispered, her eyes widening. She pulled out her phone and dialed the mansion's number.

No answer. She called his cell phone. No answer. She called the mansion again. She heard what sounded like someone picking up the phone, "Tony? Tony, are you there?" The line went dead. She was starting to panic.

So she called Rhodey.

"Hello?" She heard him ask.

"Rhodey! I need you to go to the mansion and check on Tony."

Rhodey frowned, "What? What's going on?"

"Rhodey, Obadiah was the one that paid terrorists to kill Tony!" Pepper blurted out. She headed out of the office room and practically flew down the stairs.

"Please, just go check on him for me?" She pleaded.

"All right, all right. I'll go check on him." Rhodey accepted and got into his car, heading straight for the mansion.

Pepper hung up the phone just as she reached the doors, it was now dark outside. She looked around the office, not even realizing what time it was. No one was here. It must be late.

She opened the doors and briskly walked toward her car, which was just around the corner. She reached the corner expecting to see her car, but instead, found three robust men.

"Uh...Good evening?" Pepper asked, turning in the opposite direction and running away. Too bad she had decided to wear heels that day.

The first man jumped and grabbed her legs. "AH!" She screamed as she hit the ground. She kicked her legs, hitting him in the face with a stiletto heel. Maybe it was good that she had worn heels after all. She got up off the ground and tried to run, but found another man in front of her as she looked up. She flung her purse, hitting him in the face with it. He stumbled backwards for a moment, and Pepper found her chance to get past. Before she could though, she was seized from behind. "Let go of me!" She yelled.

"Leave me alone!" She screamed.

"Oh we can't do that, sweetheart." One of them laughed.

She heard the door of a van open, "NO!" Pepper screamed, "Tony! Someone!" She yelled.

"Tony's not here to help you." He said as he threw Pepper into the back of the van, she slid across the floor of the van and hit the other side. There was a burst of light behind her eyes as her head hit the metal interior of the car. She started to fade, her last thoughts lingering on Tony.

* * *

Tony, having heard the mansion phone ring once, and then his cell phone ringing from the living room, stopped his work on the suit and walked up the stairs. He sat down on the white sofa, not even noticing someone standing just down the hallway, waiting in the dark.

Tony looked at the phone, noticing that it was Pepper, answered it, and was just about to say hello when a piercing high-pitched sound rang its way through his eardrums. He felt his limbs lock and he could barely breathe. He felt two hands guide him backward onto the sofa.

"Don't forget to breathe." He heard a familiar voice. Obadiah.

"Easy, easy..." He said as Tony laid back against the sofa.

"You remember this one, right? It's a shame the government didn't approve it. There's so many applications for causing short-term paralysis." He turned off the device and slipped it into his pocket. He walked around and sat down next to Tony on the couch.

"Tony." He looked at him and sighed, "When I ordered that hit on you..."

Time seemed to stop. Obadiah had been the one that tried to get him killed in Afghanistan. No wonder no one had known that he was alive, they had sent the ransom video to Obadiah.

"I was worried that I was killing the golden goose." Tony heard Obadiah say.

"But you see, it was just fate that you survived that. You had one last golden egg to give." Obadiah paused as he picked up a case and opened it, pulling out an interesting device.

A deadly one, in Tony's opinion. He didn't know exactly what it was for, but he wasn't liking how it had three large spikes coming out of the end of it. And this short term paralysis was causing some major pain. Where was Pepper? Wasn't she supposed to be back by now?

"Your father, he helped give us the atomic bomb. Now what kind of world would it be today if he was as selfish as you?" He asked.

Obadiah reached out and stuck that device into Tony's chest, right where the arc reactor was. There was a drilling sound, and Tony groaned in pain. He felt unbelievably helpless as he watched Obadiah pull the arc reactor out of his body.

"Oh, it's beautiful." He seemed mesmerized by the glow of the reactor. The cord leading to the bottom of the cylinder was still connected, keeping the power going.

"What a masterpiece. This is your legacy. A new generation of weapons with this at its heart." He paused, looking at Tony.

He pulled the cord, unhooking it from the base plate within the cylinder imbedded in Tony's chest. Tony felt a tug as he pulled it out. He let out a strangled cry, trying to breathe.

"I wish you could've seen my prototype. It's not as...well, not as conservative as yours." Obadiah said.

Prototype? Had he made his own suit?

"Too bad you had to involve Pepper in this. I would have preferred that she lived." Obadiah put the arc reactor into the case and stood to leave.

Tony felt his eyes widen. Pepper! He had to get to the basement. His other reactor was down there, sitting on his desk. He watched as Obadiah opened the door and left him there to die. He had to get to the arc reactor, and he had to get to Pepper.

Tony felt that he could move his eyes and shut his eyelids. That was a good start. But not good enough. He had to be able to move in five minutes. He waited in agony, testing each of his fingers, his toes...things weren't working fast enough!

Finally, after waiting an eternity within five minutes, he was finally able to move. He rolled off the couch and crawled to the elevator. There was no way he would make it to the stairs. He mainly had to use his arms, his legs weren't working quite yet.

He reached up and pressed the button for the elevator, he grabbed a hand rail and stood on wobbly legs. The door opened and he fell against the wall of the elevator. As soon as the door opened and he stepped out, he completely collapsed.

Tony crawled across the floor just as he had upstairs, he tried to remember which desk he had left his old arc reactor on. He crawled and crawled, pulling himself across the cement floor with his arms. Pain and a kind of tingling sensation was shooting up and down his torso and legs. He was pretty sure that was a good thing, it meant that he was starting to feel things again. The paralyzation was wearing off.

He finally made it to his desk and propped himself up on a garbage can. He reached over the top of the desk and felt around, feeling the end of the cord with his fingertips. He reached just a bit further and grabbed it, pulling it down to him.

He fell to the floor with it, inserting the end of the cord into the base plate just as he felt his mind grow fuzzy. He needed power to the arc reactor soon, or he'd pass out from the pain. He twisted and locked in the old arc reactor, waiting for it to take effect. Before he could know it was really working, he lost consciousness.

* * *

Rhodey drove as fast as he could to get to the mansion, but it was taking longer than it should have. An accident on the freeway kept him up, and so did the nightly traffic in Malibu. He honked his horn impatiently. "Come on!" He yelled.

He finally made it to the mansion, running in and calling Tony's name.

"Tony?" He called throughout the mansion a couple of times.

He ran around the mansion, checking his bedroom, the bathroom, the kitchen, the living room, then he spotted the basement. "That should have been the first place I looked..." He said, angry at himself.

He ran down the stairs and spotted Tony laying face down on the floor.

"Tony!" He yelled, panic surging through him. He turned him over, and saw Tony's eyes slowly open.

A kind of realization seemed to hit him. He grabbed Rhodey's arm, "Where's Pepper?" He asked, his voice hoarse.

"I talked to her about a half an hour ago, she's fine." Rhodey said, helping his friend up off the floor.

"No. She's not. She's not safe anymore." Tony said as Rhodey helped him to a chair. "Get me to the platform. I need to put on the suit." He gulped down deep breaths.

"Tony, are you serious? I'm sure Pepper's fine!" Rhodey said, "I heard her voice!"

Tony shook his head, "A half an hour is a long time. Anything could have happened in that time. She would have been back by now."

Rhodey frowned, "Maybe...I'll call her."

Tony threw his head back, his jaw locking, the pain was unbearable. He was glad the government hadn't approved the short-term paralysis device. He wouldn't wish this on anyone. Well, maybe Obadiah.

"Rhodey! Get me over to the platform, now!" Tony yelled through clenched teeth.

Rhodey sighed, but gave in to Tony's wishes and helped him to the platform.

Tony suited up, feeling the power of the arc reactor rejuvenating him.

"Not bad, huh?" Tony asked Rhodey, who was standing near by.

"Yeah, I guess. Just don't get yourself killed, Tony." He said, looking at his friend sternly, "What do you need me to do? Get into a suit and help you?" He asked.

"Uh...no. Your suit isn't working...I ripped some stuff out of it to fix mine up. Don't use it. Go to the base and keep the skies clear, I'm pretty sure this could get messy, so be ready in case I do fail." He said, then closed his face plate and took off.

"So much for a goodbye. Good luck, Tony!" He called through the opening in the ceiling that mechanically opened and closed.

Rhodey ran out of the mansion and got into his car, heading for the air force base.

* * *

Pepper woke up extremely sore, and her head was pounding. She was tied to a chair around the waist, her legs were bound together, and her hands were bound together in front of her. She felt something jabbing against her side and looked down to find her cell phone in her pocket. Her cell phone. What kind of idiots were these people? She didn't care. She was thankful they had forgotten to check her pockets.

She looked around to find no one in the room with her. As she scanned the room, she saw a large form of a giant in the dark corner. "What on earth is that?" She whispered.

Only a moment later, a door opened, letting some light into the room. A tall man stepped in and flipped a light switch. Pepper's eyes watered as she tried to adjust to the brightness of the room. She squinted through her tears and realized that it was Obadiah.

Pepper couldn't think of anything to say, they had had suspicions that it was him, but how was she supposed to confront him? Especially when tied to a chair?

Obadiah walked over to her and she noticed he was carrying some kind of briefcase in one of his hands. He set it down on a lone table in the middle of the room with random boxes of junk.

"Oh Pepper, if you had just stayed out of things, you wouldn't have to be in here like this." He motioned to her and the pitiful state she was in. One of her shoes was missing, her dress pants were torn, she had cuts all over her hands, and a small bruise forming on the side of her face, a cut on her cheek, and a fractured left arm. Not to mention all the bruises and cuts on her legs from trying to fend off her kidnappers.

"Curiosity always kills the cat." Obadiah tisked. He reached for the briefcase, opening it and picking something up. He turned so she could see exactly what it was.

Tony's arc reactor. The new one.

Pepper's eyes widened and her mouth hung open in shock. "Where is he? What did you do to him?" Pepper was panicking. She was moving around in her chair, struggling against the bonds.

"At the state I left him in, he could be dead, for all I know." Obadiah shrugged.

"NO!" Pepper yelled, "No. He has to be alive." She started to cry. These past few months had been the worst ones for Pepper. Hands down.

She struggled against the ties holding her, her hands getting rope burn. Then she remembered the phone in her pocket. She faked giving up and hung her head, crying a little.

"Poor Pepper." Obadiah said, he put a hand under her chin and forced her face upward. "Maybe you'll get to see Tony in some kind of afterlife." He laughed a little.

Pepper only glared at him. Obadiah turned and walked over to his giant prototype. He seemed to be examining it. She took this opportunity and wedged the phone out of her pants pocket, where it clattered to the floor. Obadiah was tinkering with something the moment it hit the floor. She waited, holding her breath, to see if he would turn around.

He never did. He kept working diligently, trying to figure out a way to hook the arc reactor into his own prototype. The phone had fallen further away from the chair, not something she was entirely happy about. Then a thought came to her. She could tip her chair over, and land next to the phone, and hit Tony's speed dial. That would do it.

She rocked back and forth on the chair while Obadiah still tinkered away with the prototype. Finally, after a lot of effort, Pepper fell over with the chair, being very careful not to make any sudden noises. Luckily, she had landed on her right side, not on the same side as her fractured and/or broken arm. All she knew, was that it hurt like hell.

As soon as she hit the floor, pain shot through her chest. Something was wrong. Had she broken a rib? She could barely breathe. 'Well this isn't fun.' She found herself thinking. She reached up with her bonded hands and pressed the number one on her phone, and then Call.

"Pick up, pick up, pick up..." Pepper whispered.

There was a very loud, "Pepper! Where are you?" That came from the other end.

Tony WAS alive! She wanted to cry with happiness and jump for joy, but obviously, that was out of the question.

"I'm in Stark Industries!" She was able to yell before Obadiah swiftly grabbed the phone away from her.

"Hello Tony." Obadiah said into the phone. "I'm sorry you're still alive."

"I'm sorry you're not already in prison." Tony said, distain dripping from his voice. "Don't you DARE do anything to Pepper!"

Obadiah chuckled, "What? Like this?" He leaned over and grabbed Pepper's arm and pulled her and the chair up. Pepper was screaming in pain. He had grabbed her broken arm. After letting go of her, he hit her across the face, where a bruise was already forming.

She panted, "Tony...will find me..." She breathed heavily. Her vision was growing fuzzy from the pain.

"Oh dear. It looks like you're girlfriend is having a hard time staying awake, Tony. You should call back later when she's not sleepy." Obadiah hung up the phone, threw it to the floor and crushed it under his foot.

"I...hate you..." Pepper said bitterly, trying to keep her eyes from drooping. The room was spinning around her.

All Tony had heard was Pepper's screaming. He pooled some more energy into his repulsors and set off even faster for Stark Industries. He would get there within the next five minutes.

Obadiah reached up and grabbed something from the ceiling that hung above Pepper. An industrial sized hook. That didn't look friendly at all. He grabbed her hands and lifted them. He used the rope already around her wrists to fasten it to the hook. Her eyes widened and she tried to struggle, but her energy was completely leaving her. Her arms were stretched up as far as they could go, and she was still tied to the chair. Obadiah reached over and untied the rope that held her to the chair. Her ankles were still tied together. Before Pepper could stand up and free herself from the hook, Obadiah pressed a large button on the wall. She felt herself stretch out and rise off the floor. She was just less than a foot off of the floor, but she couldn't touch the ground even if she pointed her toes. Her arm was killing her, and so were her ribs.

She whimpered in pain, she could hardly breathe. "Please." She gasped. "Let me go." She choked.

Obadiah walked back over to her and took out a knife from his pocket, "The only way to really get to someone, is to break the person they care most for." He said, analyzing the knife.

Pepper was trying to stay awake, but now that she saw what Obadiah wanted to do, she wasn't so sure she wanted to be awake for it. She stared at him, her face completely void of emotion. Tony would be here within a minute, but a lot can happen in only that small amount of time.

Obadiah grabbed her shirt and tore it, revealing her bare stomach, he lifted the knife to her skin and lightly ran over it. Pepper squeezed her eyes shut. This was going to be a living nightmare. Obadiah swiped it across her stomach, drawing blood. Pepper cried out in pain. It felt as though her stomach were on fire. She gulped down air, trying not to suffocate. "Tony." She breathed.

Obadiah started to laugh. "He won't get here in time."

Tears raced down Pepper's cheeks, dripping to the floor.

Obadiah could hear the low noise of what sounded like a small airplane coming closer, but he knew better. It was Tony.

"Good bye, Pepper. It was nice knowing you." Obadiah said, he seemed sincere, but in a twisted way.

Pepper's vision was going fuzzy, she wouldn't be awake for much longer. She could see Obadiah's arm pull back, the knife in his hand ready to break her skin and end her life. He moved his body forward, his arm getting closer. It was like slow motion, then suddenly, there was a loud crunching sound and then a blast that sent Obadiah flying across the room, he landed hard on the floor.

Tony watched as Obadiah flew across the room, then looked at what had been his focus. "Pepper!" He yelled as he flew forward, he went around and faced her, noticing that blood was quickly seeping out of a cut that stretched across her entire stomach.

Tony opened his faceplate and put his head between her arms and lifted up, so that the rope detached from the hook and she was hanging around his neck instead. He touched down to the ground, turning off his repulsors. Pepper was completely unconscious.

Tony sat down with Pepper in his arms, "Pepper? Hey, Pep." Tony traced her facial features for a moment before she started to wake.

"Tony?" She whispered as her eyes fluttered open.

Tony sighed with relief, "I thought I had lost you." Tony said, his heart was still pounding. He looked over Pepper, seeing how beat up she looked made him boil with anger.

"You're going to be all right, okay?" He said quietly. His ears perked up as he heard something move toward the back corner of the room. He turned his head around to see a giant version of his own Iron Man suit lighting up and take its first step in their direction.

Tony's eyes widened, "We have to get out of here, Pepper." Tony said, standing up and holding Pepper against him. She was fading in and out of consciousness.

"No." Pepper whispered.

"What? No?" Tony asked.

"You need to take care of Obadiah. Call Rhodey. He'll come." Pepper said quietly.

"Rhodey's all the way back at the base!" Tony said, getting frustrated. He watched as Obadiah tested the different parts of the suit.

"There's no time to argue! He'll follow where ever we go anyway. Just put me down somewhere and call Rhodey." Pepper said, squeezing her eyes shut in pain.

Tony stood for just a moment before blasting through the hole he had already made when he came into the building. He hid Pepper near the arc reactor, "Pepper, please, please don't do anything stupid." Tony pleaded.

She let out a sharp laugh, "You too." She smiled at Tony, bringing her hand up to his face. Tony looked down at the cut on her abdomen and grimaced.

"I'll be fine." She said, reading Tony's mind. "You need to take care of Obadiah. When Rhodey gets here, he can take care of me."

Tony nodded, but still unsure. "Just apply pressure to it as often as you can." And then, without much thought, he leaned forward and kissed her cheek. He turned away from her and shot into the sky, calling Rhodey.

"Rhodey! It's Tony."

"Ya...I know." Rhodey said, holding his cell phone to his ear.

"Hey, Pepper's hurt, but Obadiah is after me and I couldn't get her to safety. Where are you?" Tony asked.

"I'm at the base, and I told them what's going on. What do you want me to do?" Rhodey asked.

"I need to you get to Pepper. Help her. Something. We're at Stark Industries, near the Arc Reactor." Tony said, he was standing just outside Stark Industries. There was a huge crunching noise as the concrete wall of the building exploded into dust.

Tony turned around just in time. A huge missile launched straight past him, blowing up a concrete barrier. Before he could react, Obadiah hit him right in the chest, sending him flying over the barrier and on to the highway below. He hit the pavement and stood, cars screeched and came to a halt all around him.

"Ah crap." Tony said as Obadiah landed on the highway and threw a car filled with people in his direction.

Tony caught it with some major effort and put it on the ground, the lady and kids in the car screaming like there was no tomorrow. He watched as they drove off, then turned and saw Obadiah running for him.

He ran as fast as he could, straight for Obadiah, sending a jet of blue light right at his head. Obadiah retaliated with a few missiles, headed in Tony's direction. One of the missiles hit Tony in the shoulder, sending him flying backwards.

He hit the ground, and Obadiah stomped down on Tony's chest with his foot. "For YEARS, I've been holding you up!" Obadiah yelled in anger. "I took care of that company. Built it from scratch after your father! Nothing is going to stand in my way." Tony could barely breathe, he was being crushed by Obadiah's powerful suit. Obadiah bent over and grabbed Tony by the arm, lifting him off the ground, "Least of all YOU!" He threw Tony at a bus that had been abandoned only moments ago.

Obadiah aimed a missile at the bus, there was a huge blast, and Tony flew through the air. Before he hit the ground, he opened the repulsor jets on his feet and hovered above the ground.

"Impressive! I've made some upgrades of my own!" Obadiah yelled, he started the repulsors under his feet and started to climb through the air.

"Sir, it appears that his suit can fly." Jarvis said.

"Duly noted. Take me to maximum altitude." Tony said. He watched as the power on his suit depleted. He had to play this perfectly, or he would be completely out of power.

"With only 15% power, the odds of reaching that..." Jarvis quipped.

"I know the math! Do it!" He yelled. He shot through the air, getting higher and higher, and glancing down every now and then to see where Obadiah was.

"Sir, if I may ask, do you have a plan?" Jarvis asked.

"I thought you would figure that out for yourself," Tony smiled, glancing down at the massive giant that was Obadiah Stane. "I'm betting that Obadiah didn't think to ice-proof it. His won't make it past the atmosphere like mine can."

"And what are you going to do if he does get through the atmosphere?" Jarvis asked.

"I'll have to do some improvising." Tony grunted, giving more power to the repulsors.

* * *

Whooo! Go Tony! Reviews would be fabulous, thank you.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Pepper lay on the floor of Stark Industries building, trying to apply pressure to the cut across her abdomen, there was so much blood. Tony had left her there only moments ago, but she was starting to fade. She could hear horns honking and a loud explosion. She feared that Tony may not still be alive, until she looked up through the glass paneled ceiling and saw two forms rise through the sky.

Pepper sighed in relief. Tony was still alive.

* * *

Rhodey made his way through traffic, trying to get to Stark Industries. He had told the commander to be on high alert, just in case Iron Man failed.

"Come ON!" He yelled, punching his steering wheel and honking the horn. He was only a few miles from Stark Industries.

"Hang on Pepper." Rhodey whispered. He wasn't sure how bad it was, but he could tell from his best friend's tone of voice, that it didn't sound too good. Rhodey took a deep breath, and whatever it was that Obadiah had created must have been a high threat to the rest of the city in order to leave Pepper in the state she was in.

Just as he thought that, he saw two forms rise above the horizon, fire spewing from their feet. "Good luck, Tony." Rhodey whispered as he pulled up to Stark Industries. He opened his door and started out running.

Rhodey got up to the door and tried the handle. Locked. "Pepper!" He yelled. He squinted through the window panes on the door, and spotted her lying on the floor, blood was soaking her shirt. He pounded his fist on the door, "PEPPER!" He screamed. Rhodey glanced up, looking for windows. Some kind of way in.

He looked around and found some shards and chunks of cement blown away by the various explosions from Tony's and Obadiah's fight. He picked one up and threw it as hard as he could at the glass doors. The glass shattered in a shower and Rhodey ran through it with his hands over his head.

He sprinted to Pepper, kneeling down next to her. "Pepper?" He gripped her shoulder, and assessed her wounds. She wasn't awake, but she was breathing. A steady flow of blood made Rhodey nervous. She was looking extremely pale.

"Pepper, can you hear me?" Rhodey asked, shaking her slightly.

Her eyes opened and she clenched her jaw, she looked around for a moment, and then smiled when she saw Rhodey. "Hello..." She breathed.

Pepper grimaced in pain, "Pepper, I've got to get you out of here. Tony's orders." Rhodey said.

She nodded and tried to get up, but her body wouldn't allow it. Rhodey picked Pepper up, one arm under her knees, and the other around her back. "You'll be fine, everything will be okay." Rhodey chanted as he headed toward his car with Pepper.

Blood was all over Rhodey's shirt by the time he got to the car with Pepper. "Oh man..." Rhodey placed Pepper in the back of the car so she had more room to spread out if she needed to. Rhodey pulled his shirt off and tore it into strips and wound it around Pepper's abdomen. "Does that feel any better at all?" Rhodey asked, hoping it would help ease the pain as well as stem the blood flow.

Pepper's face was set in a frown, but she nodded at the same time. She could hardly talk. She was obviously in a lot of pain. Rhodey pulled his phone out and was just about to dial Tony's number when he heard what sounded like metal scraping together. Rhodey stepped out of the car and looked up to see a giant mass heading straight toward them. Rhodey's eyes widened as he realized that Obadiah was about to land right on top of them. He jumped to his car and grabbed Pepper's arm, dragging her out and practically throwing her to the side.

Rhodey made a dive out of the way before he was knocked out by flying debris.

Pepper hit the ground and rolled a few feet before coming to a complete stop. She groaned in pain and sat up, seeing the giant mass of metal that was Rhodey's car crunched beneath an iron giant. Her eyes widened when she spotted Rhodey, who was sprawled out on the cement, and there was a large gash on the back of his head. It made Pepper sick to her stomach, but she leaned forward nevertheless and pulled him so he was out of the way of harm. "Rhodey, you owe me one." She panted as she pulled him away, dragging him across the ground.

Pepper heard an atrocious sound coming from Obadiah's direction. She looked up to see him standing, the metals scraping against each other. Her eyes widened in horror. For those few moments, she thought he had been dead, or at least knocked out. Maybe he wouldn't notice her and Rhodey.

The giant turned in their direction and stopped. Pepper could feel his eyes boring into hers. "So you're still alive, huh?" She heard a mechanical version of Obadiah's voice ring through the air. There was no way she could run away. Even if she did, she would be leaving her friend here to die. No. There was no way out of this one, unless Tony showed up.

Obadiah raised one of his gun-clad arms and aimed at Pepper. "Your services are no longer required."

Pepper closed her eyes and waited for the bullet to penetrate her body, but it never came. With a blast of air, Tony came rushing in. He hit Obadiah in the chest, sending him flying backwards.

Obadiah flew through the air and landed on a lower roof of the Stark Industries building. Tony followed in hot pursuit, and at the same time, ordering Jarvis to call Rhodey's cell phone. He was hatching a plan.

Pepper could hear a familiar ringing noise coming from somewhere next to her. She looked around, then realized the noise was coming from Rhodey. She checked his pants pockets and finally found his cell phone unharmed and...ringing.

"Hello?" She answered. Like this was really a good time to be answering a call. She could barely talk, and she could taste bile and blood mixed together in her mouth.

"Pepper?" Tony asked.

"Ya. Rhodey's down." Pepper wheezed.

Tony whacked Obadiah over the head, trying to focus on keeping himself alive as well as talk to Pepper.

"I need you to get into the building and overload the reactor and blast the roof." Tony said, dodging a missile from Obadiah.

"How am I going to do that?" Pepper asked, she looked up at the Stark Industries building and peered at the eerie blue glow of the arc reactor.

"Go to the central console, open up all the circuits. When I get clear of the roof, I'll let you know-" Tony took a hit to the abdomen by Obadiah, sending him flying through the air. He hit the floor of the roof, leaving an indent.

"Tony?" Pepper yelled, grimacing as the exertion of yelling sent her head spinning.

Tony shook his head, trying to get himself back up and working. "Pepper, you're going to hit the master bypass button. It'll fry everything up here." Tony said through clenched teeth. He wouldn't be able to go up against Obadiah for much longer.

Pepper slowly made her way toward the building, which was only about fifteen yards away at the most, but with her wound, it would take longer, and be quite painful.

Tony fought Obadiah, hitting him with everything he could. He was running out of options, and he knew he had to buy some time for Pepper. He hoped she wouldn't pass out on the way to the building.

Tony hopped over a piece of cement and leaped onto Obadiah's back, reaching in and pulling some wires, "This looks important!" He yelled, yanking the wires.

Obadiah reached up and grabbed Tony around the waist, pulling him off of his back and throwing him down. Tony let out a painful gasp and rolled over before Obadiah could stomp down on his chest.

Pepper was almost to the main entrance, she had crawled across the asphalt to get there. She finally got to the doors, about to lean up against the glass to push it open, only to realize there was nothing there. She had forgotten that Rhodey had smashed the glass door in order to get to her. She was incredibly thankful that she didn't have to use up more energy just to open a door. She crawled through, feeling the glass clawing into her palms. She took out Rhodey's phone from her pocket and lifted it to her ear, it was still on the line with Tony. "Okay, Tony, I'm in." She said, heaving herself up and over a couple of steps to the huge platform that the arc reactor sat on.

Tony crouched on the ground, ready to fly as the arc reactor's explosion went off, but before he could signal Pepper to push the button, he was grabbed around the waist by a giant hand, pulling him upward. He was pulled around and came face to face with Obadiah. Well, mask to mask. Obadiah squeezed as hard as he could, laughing as Tony roared in pain.

"You finally outdid yourself, Tony! You'd have made your father proud!" Obadiah yelled, Tony pounded the metal on Obadiah's wrist, but before he could get at anything, Obadiah's other hand came up and ripped the mask off of Tony's face. No protection.

Tony had to get away, or he would be a dead man. "Flares!" He yelled, and flares shot out, obscuring Obadiah's sight. He threw Tony across the roof, who came to rest right above Pepper.

Pepper pressed a few buttons and pulled a few levers before picking the phone back up, "Tony get off the roof! It's ready!" She glanced up to see Tony fly across the glass paneled ceiling. "Oh no..." She said quietly.

Obadiah shot a few bullets at Tony, who threw up his arm to protect his head from the whizzing bullets. Some of them blew past Tony and hit the glass he was kneeling on, sending him into a free fall. He grabbed the beams between the glass panes and hung on. "How ironic, Tony! Trying to rid the world of weapons, you gave it its best one ever!" Obadiah yelled, opening his suit up and revealing the upper half of his body. "And now I'm going to kill you with it!"

Tony's mind was reeling, he had to come to grips with the fact that he could very well die right here and now. "Pepper!" He yelled, signaling her to press the button, no matter the cost. "Press the button!"

"You'll die!" She cried.

Obadiah fired a few more shots, all missing Tony, "You ripped out my targeting system!" He yelled, frustrated. He was so close to getting rid of Tony, if only he could aim...

Tony's hold was slipping, he couldn't hold on for much longer. "Press the button!" He yelled. Pepper looked up at Tony, meeting his eyes, "But-"

"Trust me, Pepper. Press it!" Obadiah was standing close enough that the arc reactor would surely kill him.

Tony heard the arc reactor heating up, signaling him that Pepper had pressed the button. He looked up to see Obadiah firing a missile right at him, and in that moment, he let go.

* * *

Don don don! What's next? You'll just have to read! Reviews would be awesome!


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Tony felt the missile ruffle his hair as it shot past the top of his head. He would have been killed. Hopefully the arc reactor wouldn't kill him either. He dropped from the beams and landed on the floor, right next to Pepper. He could see electric currents bursting with energy. The arc reactor was cracking. There was little time before it went up in a giant explosion of blue light.

He glanced back at Pepper, who was completely unconscious and a ghostly white color. He gathered her up in his arms and shot through the broken doors just as the building heated up to an intensity that the human body could not stand. He hovered by the building and watched as Obadiah was hit by the massive explosion that the arc reactor released. He could hear him scream, and then when the huge pillar of electric blue light disappeared from the sky, Obadiah's screams still echoed in Tony's mind. He could see him fall from the roof and hear the clanking of metal as Obadiah's body and suit fell into the arc reactor. There was a deep rumbling before a giant fireball erupted into the sky. Tony turned around, shielding Pepper from any falling debris.

When Tony heard the sirens, he realized he wasn't wearing his mask. If he didn't get out of here, people would know who Iron Man was. He took off to the hospital, Pepper wasn't doing well. He landed at the back of the hospital, where no one was and lowered Pepper to the ground, and knelt down beside her. He pressed his arc reactor slightly, making his armor contract and release from his body, packing itself into a backpack.

"Pepper?" He asked, he felt her forehead and wasn't surprised to feel how hot it was, her temperature could be deadly, and she was breaking out into a cold sweat. "Pepper, hang on. You'll be all right, I promise." He picked her back up and ran to the back door, opening it.

"Nurse! Doctor! Somebody!" He called, running into the hospital. A nurse turned around, surprised by the sudden entry of a seemingly hysterical person.

"What's wrong with her? What happened?" She asked hurriedly, signaling other nurses for a gurney and an I.V.

"She was cut across the abdomen, and I think her arm's broken, and maybe some ribs." Tony said quickly, they brought over the gurney and Tony laid her down on it. They wheeled her to a back room, and a nurse stepped into Tony's path.

"I'm sorry, sir. We can't let you go back there with her until we know how you're related to her." The nurse said as some doctors ran past them.

"I'm not related to her." Tony said, peering over her shoulder anxiously as the doors opened for a moment.

"Then how do you know her?" The nurse asked.

"I'm her...boyfriend." Tony said, he was like a deer in the headlights, his eyes wide.

"Really?" The nurse asked suspiciously.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I don't normally pull this card, but do you know who I am?" Tony asked, getting frustrated. He pointed to himself. "I'm Tony Stark, in charge of Stark Industries."

"Sir, just because you own a rather large company, doesn't mean that you can get what you want." The nurse said.

Tony took a deep breath, "I'm just trying to make sure that the person I love most will be fine. Will you please give me updates?" He asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

The nurse bit her lip, "Yes I can do that, Mr. Stark." She turned around and stalked through the doors, leaving Tony to sit down in a nearby waiting room.

Tony pulled out his phone and dialed for Rhodey. Rhodey! He had left him there... "Oh crap." Tony said, covering his face with his hands. "He's going to kill me." He looked up when he heard doors around the corner open and some people walked into the facility.

"Sir, we need you to lie down. You have a rather large gash on the back of your head-" Someone said.

"I don't care, I need to see if my friends are here. I need to see if Pepper is okay, and I have no idea where Tony is."

Tony knew that voice. It was Rhodey. "Rhodey!" Tony got up from his seat and ran around the corner. He almost ran right into his friend.

"Tony!" Rhodey cried, a smile split his face, "Oh man. I'm so glad to see you alive. Where's Pepper?" He asked, looking around.

"She's probably in surgery." Tony looked down at his feet, "Rhodey, look-" Tony started.

"Don't say anything." Rhodey put his hand up, his voice low. He looked behind him suspiciously, the EMTs were still standing there.

Rhodey tried to look mad, like he was angry at Tony about something and there wasn't anything they were hiding. "We'll talk later. I just want to know how Pepper's doing."

Tony shook his head, "There was a nurse that was really uptight, she didn't believe me when I told her I was Pepper's friend. I mean...oh, I mean, boyfriend..." Tony stuttered.

"You told the nurse she was your girlfriend?" Rhodey started laughing, then started to tip over.

"Rhodey!" Tony rushed forward along with the two EMTs. They all caught him just before he hit the ground.

"Sir, we'll let you know how he is when we're finished. We just need to stitch him up." They carried him to a nearby out-patient room and started work on him. Tony went back around the corner and sat down. This had happened to both of his friends because of him and his carelessness.

"I'm in a crap-load of trouble tonight." He sighed. He propped up his legs on another chair and leaned back.

Tony woke up an hour or so later, he looked up to see the uptight nurse lady staring at him. "Ah!" He gasped. "Sorry, you surprised me." Tony said, pinching the bridge of his nose. The sooner he was out of here, the better. He didn't care if he had to take care of Pepper and Rhodey at his house, he would do it. As long as he got out of this place and away from that nurse.

"I didn't realize until now, that you are quite bruised and have a few cuts, Mr. Stark." The nurse said, looking closer at him.

All of a sudden, Tony became very self-conscious. "Yes...that is...very astute of you." He cleared his throat and adjusted his shirt collar, trying to hide his nerves.

"Mr. Stark...were you and Ms. Potts in an argument recently?" She asked as innocently as she could.

Tony couldn't help but smile, "Ah...no. Definitely not. I actually saved her," he paused, waiting for the woman's expression to change. It didn't. "From a psycho." He emphasized. Her expression still didn't change.

"That's how I got all of my bruises and cuts, was from the psycho..." Tony trailed off, waving a hand at his various bruises and wounds.

She nodded, but he knew she didn't believe him. "If you must know, really, Mr. Stane, the man I worked with, kidnapped Pepper Potts and held her against her will, I found out where they were and ran to the rescue, when I got there, I realized I was no match for him and called on Iron Man for help. Mr. James Rhodes arrived at the scene also, but was hit in the back of the head by flying debris. I dragged Pepper out of there while Iron Man and Stane battled, and then Pepper overloaded the Arc Reactor that powers my factory and in result, it killed Stane. I do not know where Iron Man is at the moment, but I sincerely hope that he is unharmed and okay." Tony drew in a deep breath.

The nurse's mouth hung open, "I'm not sure I believe your statement at the moment, but I'll look into it." She said quietly, and then turned and left.

Tony rolled his eyes and looked at the clock on his phone. It was well past midnight. Where was Rhodey?

He looked up just in time to see Rhodey heading down the hallway with a pair of crutches. "Hey Rhodey, are you all right?" Tony asked, getting up from his seat. He could tell he was going to have some major neck cramping.

"Ya, I'm fine. They sewed my head back up and then x-rayed my foot. It's just sprained." He shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "I heard them say in the hallway that Pepper would be okay, she's just resting. She's still not awake though." Rhodey said.

Tony let out a whoosh of relief. "Oh thank goodness. I was getting anxious. You would not believe the grilling I just got from that nurse." Tony whispered, making a face.

Rhodey chuckled, "I bet she asked you if you and Pepper had gotten in a fight?" He guessed.

"You are good, my friend. Genius material." Tony winked.

"Ya, I'll leave the genius stuff to you." He said, laughing a little. His smile faded, and he looked at Tony with remorse. "I'm sorry it was Stane. What happened to him?"

They sat down and Tony relayed the story to Rhodey, "I don't know what to do now. I don't know who to trust anymore."

"You know you can trust Pepper and me though, right?" Rhodey asked, putting a hand on Tony's shoulder.

"Yes, of course. I know that." Tony looked up at Rhodey and smiled.

The same nurse that had asked Tony too many questions, in his opinion, walked around the corner to them with somewhat of a scowl on her face. "Your story checks out, Mr. Stark. I just saw the News. They've found Mr. Stane's body, and your factory is in complete shambles. Way to save the day." She said, not really caring.

She turned to leave, but then looked back at them, "Oh, and I found that you are listed as one of Ms. Potts' emergency contacts. You are allowed to see her. One at a time though, please."

Tony had the feeling this nurse had been working too many hours this week. She was grumpy. "Thank you, I appreciate it." Tony said with a sincere smile.

The nurse turned with a smile on her face, she had a theory forming in her head, and it involved Mr. Stark and a certain Iron Man suit. There was no way he could have carried Pepper all the way to the hospital in such a short amount of time. She would wait and see what the future told, though.

Tony and Rhodey made their way down the corridor of the hospital and stopped just outside Pepper's room.

"I don't know if I can go in there yet." Tony said, turning away from the door and looking at Rhodey.

"All right, I'll go in first, but only for a minute. Then you can have all the time you want in there with her." Rhodey said.

Tony nodded, "Ya, ya...that's a good idea." He sat down in one of the chairs right outside the door and watched Rhodey walk in.

It felt like an hour went by within the few minutes that Rhodey was in there. Maybe he should have gone in first after all. Tony was feeling sick, he was so anxious.

Rhodey opened the door and walked out with his crutches, "Go on in. She's still not awake yet, but you could still talk to her. Don't worry so much, man." Rhodey squeezed Tony's shoulder. "She's gonna be fine." He gave his friend a reassuring nod and watched him walk into the room.

Tony walked in, his eyes glued to the floor. When he got closer to the bed, he forced himself to look at her. Pepper had a breathing mask over her face and IVs stuck into her arm. She had cuts and bruises all over her arms, and one of them was in a sling. He didn't even want to imagine how bad her legs were, or her stomach, for that matter. He pulled a chair up next to the bed and took one of her hands in his, resting his forehead on the edge of the bed. "Oh Pepper, I'm so sorry." His heart went to the same beat as hers on the monitor, and it softly lulled him into a light sleep.

Tony woke to a sudden jolt. He had had a nasty nightmare, that he hadn't been able to get to Pepper in time, and that Rhodey was inside the building when it exploded. He tried to steady his breathing before he had some kind of heart attack.

"Tony?" A soft voice asked.

"Pepper!" Tony cried, standing up and looking down at her, he brought her hand up and kissed it. "I'm so glad you're awake." He smiled, his eyes shiny with tears.

Pepper smiled back, she had pulled off the face mask. "I've been awake for a little while, but I didn't want to wake you. You look tired."

Tony gave a pitiful laugh. "You should have, I had a nightmare." He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled at her. "I'm so sorry, Pepper. I put you and Rhodey in danger when it didn't have to be that-"

"Stop talking." Pepper said, her voice stern. "None of this was your fault. None of it."

Tony nodded his head slightly, he didn't want to argue with Pepper, especially after everything that had happened.

"Where's Rhodey?" Pepper asked, fear laced the features of her face.

Tony patted her hand, "He's fine, don't worry about him. He's out in the foyer."

Pepper breathed a sigh of relief, "Oh good, I saw him get hit with flying debris and was worried he had lost too much blood."

Tony arched an eyebrow, "Worried that HE lost too much blood? Pepper, you were as white as a sheet, I was almost sure that you weren't going to make it." He squeezed her hand and she squeezed back.

"I'm still here, don't worry." She smiled kindly. "When do I get to go home?"

* * *

After signing a bunch of medical release forms, Tony was finally able to take Pepper and Rhodey home. Rhodey only stayed with Tony for one night.

"Tony, I'm a big boy, I can handle myself." Rhodey said, smiling and gathering his things. He had a brace around his ankle and didn't need the crutches now.

"All right, buddy. Thank you, for coming to the rescue." Tony smiled, putting a hand on Rhodey's shoulder.

"Any time. It's what I do." Rhodey grinned and left a few minutes later.

Tony headed to the guest room where Pepper was staying, he knocked softly, but didn't hear a reply. He opened the door slightly and peered in. Pepper was in bed, asleep still. It was ten in the morning. She never would have allowed herself to sleep in this late as his P.A. but given the circumstances, Tony would let her sleep as much as she wanted to. She was strictly on bed rest for the first week of her recovery. Tony shut the door quietly and headed to the basement. He needed to repair the suit as soon as he could.

* * *

The next week went by smoothly, Pepper was healing quickly and she was up and about, doing what she used to do. But Tony had still demanded that she stay at the mansion with him.

Only a day later, Tony was called by the Associated Press, demanding that he make a statement about what had happened at Stark Industries.

"Tony, you don't have to." Pepper said, wincing as she picked up a chair and tried to move it across the room.

"Pepper." Tony said, quickly walking over to her and taking the chair from her. "The doctor said absolutely no lifting large and heavy items. That includes this chair." He gave her a worried look, then looked at the chair, "Where do you want this?"

"By the window. I'm fine. I just hate not being able to do anything." Her wounds were in the process of healing, and lifting anything that weighed more than five to ten pounds could make the process slower and more painful, and the fact that she kept "forgetting" to use the sling for her fractured arm.

"I feel like I owe them an explanation of what happened. It's fine. I'll figure it out." Tony said as he put down the chair by the window.

"All right...but I don't like it." She paused, "A little to the left." She said, motioning for him to move the chair.

He moved it the way she wanted and then glanced up, "I know you don't like it, but I'd rather not have some weird theories about what happened. Especially any that involve me being Iron Man." He took a step back from the chair. "Why did I move this?" He asked, eyeing Pepper.

She smiled, "I like to read by the window."

Tony couldn't help but smile back, "You could get me to do anything you wanted. You know that? Goodness gracious." He shook his head and laughed. "Well, I've got to head back downstairs and clean up a bit, then I'll change and go to the press conference. Did you want to come with me?"

Pepper bit her lip, thinking. "I guess. Only so that I can help you answer any questions that you're bombarded with."

Tony leaned over and kissed her cheek, "Thank you, Pepper."

* * *

Hours later, Tony and Pepper made their way to Stark Industries to give their statements. They passed the destroyed factory on their way there. Tony just looked at it with dead eyes and Pepper gave him a quick hug. "I'm sorry, Tony."

They pulled up to a hoard of reporters, and Tony took Pepper's hand to guide her through the crowd. They walked in to the building, Tony taking the mic while Pepper stayed off to the side. She spotted Rhodey a little way to her left and smiled.

Tony started to give his official statement, "It grieves me to think that Mr. Obadiah Stane was involved with the mayhem that caused the arc reactor to explode, which took his life in the explosion." Tony took a deep breath, "I had trusted him since my father came back, because I trusted whomever my father trusted. But I know now that I shouldn't have. Nothing I can do will change the past, but at least we will be able to be more wary of those we hire and put into high ranking positions."

"Mr. Stark, how did you get from Stark Industries all the way to the hospital, especially while carrying Ms. Potts, in less than five minutes?" A reporter shouted out.

It took a second for Tony to register the question. "I..." He was staring at the reporter, "I got away with her before the explosion." He stated.

Pepper grimaced. No! She yelled in her head.

"But in the official statement, you said that Pepper was the one that over loaded the arc reactor. According to an official scientific report, the arc reactor would have exploded seconds after that. She couldn't have left before the explosion, let alone get out of that building in time, especially in her condition. Unless she was picked up by someone in a shiny red suit..." The reporter smiled devilishly.

Tony blinked, his mouth agape. He couldn't think of a way out of this one.

"And if so, where were you during that entire time? How would Pepper know to over load the arc reactor? Was she somehow in contact with Iron Man? Do you think maybe..." He paused for effect, "She knows exactly who Iron Man really is?"

Tony was going to go crazy. He just wanted to run away and never come back to this infernal place, and leave these reporters to mess with someone else's life.

He bit his lip, staring down at the floor. He had to do something. Every scenario he thought of as it ran through his head would only make things more complicated and less believable. He had kept this secret for more than 20 years.

Pepper couldn't believe how fast this press conference was falling apart right before her eyes. She glanced at Rhodey and saw the fear in his eyes. She couldn't think of anything to say. She had come to help Tony, and yet...she couldn't. She had no idea what to say. She desperately thought of another scenario, something to answer the questions. Tony glanced to his left and made eye contact with Pepper, they stared at each other for what seemed like a minute, and in that moment, she knew exactly what he was going to say.

Her eyes widened, and she was about to shake her head no, but he had turned back to start addressing the public. It was either, make a scene to stop him from talking, or let him do it. She held her breath. Ultimately, it was his decision. She squeezed her eyes shut and listened.

"Well...she does. She knows exactly who Iron Man is. She's known him for most of her life, actually. Both she and Mr. Rhodes know who the true identity of Iron Man is, because...well, he's their best friend." He paused, closing his eyes for a second, "The truth is, I am Iron Man."

* * *

A few days later, Tony was in his basement on his computer, overseeing the architectural design of a new building for the factory. It was going to be a long process. He watched the News, a woman reporting his latest confession, and showing the clip. He heard his voice ring out over the speakers, "The truth is, I am Iron Man." He rolled his eyes. "Not sure that was the best idea..." He said to himself.

He glance up at the computer, on one of the screens it read, "Memory Low" Tony frowned. He looked through the files and found a mass of security tapes. "Holy cow, I haven't checked any of these since before I left for Afghanistan..." He clicked on the first one and a media player window came up and started playing the video. It was of him and Pepper in the basement talking the day he left.

Tony felt as though his heart was being tied in a knot. He watched himself walk away from Pepper, a sad look dominated her face after he turned. She hadn't wanted him to go. He knew that.

"What did she do that whole time I was gone?" He wondered aloud. He looked through the tapes, finding different days and clicking on them. He saw her collapse to the floor after hearing the news that her best friend had gone missing. He watched her cry, lying there on the floor. He didn't realize it had taken that much of a toll on her, he wished he could reach through the screen and comfort her.

He skipped ahead, watching her pick up the phone every time Rhodey called, and then putting it back in frustration, not getting the answer that she wanted to hear. He skipped even further ahead, watching as Obadiah walked in, with no one to stop him. Tony's eyes widened as Obadiah slowly made his way around the living room, peering down into the basement, he was about to take a step down when he heard something. He was back toward the front door and turned around, making it look as though he had just arrived. Pepper entered and was surprised to see him there. He talked to her for a moment, then left abruptly. Tony watched Obadiah leave, and then glanced at Pepper, who slowly sat down on the couch and then started to cry. What had he said to her? Tony started to feel angry. He should never have trusted Obadiah.

He skipped forward, still feeling upset, when he saw Pepper standing in front of his bedroom door. "What the...?" He watched her open the door and disappear inside. He waited for a good five minutes before he fast-forwarded the video. He played it at regular speed when he saw Pepper emerge, with a frantic look on her face and...a shirt in her hand. His shirt. The one he had worn the day before he left. His mouth hung open in confusion. What did she need his shirt for?

He skipped forward and saw Pepper sitting in the living room with his shirt in her lap. He watched her take it with her when she went to bed. She took it with her where ever she went. Tony felt a warmth blooming in his chest. It was as if that shirt meant that he was with her where ever she was, even though he physically was not there. Tony took a deep breath. He had to talk to her. He turned to go upstairs, but was surprised to see Pepper standing there.

"Oh. Hello." Tony said awkwardly.

"Hey..." Pepper said shyly, blushing a little.

Tony looked her over, she was really starting to look like her old self. Her hands were behind her back, and he could tell she was holding something.

"Do you have something for me?" Tony asked innocently.

Pepper smiled, "I watched what you were watching for the last minute." She said quietly.

"Pepper, I'm sorry, I should have just asked you about what happened while I was gone." Tony felt like he had invaded her privacy in some way.

Pepper shook her head with a smile on her face, "No, it's okay. I don't know if I could have worked up the courage to tell you anyway. It's kind of embarrassing." She shrugged her shoulders and brought her hands out from behind her back, revealing Tony's shirt.

"I'm sorry I took this from your room, I just...I just needed something of yours." She squeezed her eyes shut, remembering all those lonely days.

Tony's heart plunged, he truly loved her. He couldn't imagine the pain she must have been through while he was gone. He stood from his chair and took two large steps before standing right in front of her.

He looked down at her hands, holding the rumpled button-up shirt. He reached over to her and placed his hand on it and looked up at her.

"Would it..." Tony thought for a moment, looking back at Pepper, meeting her eyes with his, and slowly taking the shirt from her hands. "Would it be all right, if you replaced this shirt, with the real thing?" He gave her a genuine smile, much like the one he had given her the day he left for Afghanistan.

Pepper choked back a laugh and a sob all at once, she smiled with tears in her eyes. "Yes. I think I would be up for that." She whispered.

Tony tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and leaned in closer to her, his heart was beating with the rush of adrenaline.

Tony's and Pepper's lips met, and fireworks went off. Pepper couldn't believe this was finally happening. They shared a blissful moment together before parting, and Tony wrapped her in his arms. "I won't ever leave you again like that. I'm sorry." He kissed the top of her head and ran his fingers through her hair.

"I know you are, but you didn't really have much control over what happened." She hugged him tighter, remembering how lonely it was when he was missing.

They stood there for a moment, taking it all in.

"I love you, Pepper." Tony whispered.

Pepper felt her breath hitch, she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"What?" She asked as she pulled away from him.

Tony's eyes went wide, "I guess I didn't realize it until now, but...I've loved you. For such a long time." Tony was almost pleading for Pepper to understand. Did she not like him the same way? "Did I say the wrong thing? Am I being too forward-"

Pepper crashed her lips against his, their second kiss in only five minutes.

Pepper couldn't help but smile, "I've been waiting, so long, to hear you say that to me." Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears.

Tony laughed a little and hugged Pepper, "So...I'm guessing you love me back, right?..."

"Maybe..." Pepper giggled.

"You're killing me, here. I need an answer." Tony faked being heart broken.

"Let's just say...I've loved you since high school. Does that answer your question?" She looked up at Tony with a huge smile on her face.

"Oh, that definitely answers my question." Tony captured her lips in one last kiss before returning to their busy schedules.

* * *

TA DA! It's FINISHED! All done. Fin. Yup. DONE. Hahaha I think I'm going to focus on one-shots for a while now, after doing all those chapters for one story, I'm feeling a one-shot coming on...Reviews would be amazing. Especially since this was the last chapter. Thanks for all the reviews, guys, you're awesome!


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